The information that the AI analyses can then be used to develop fragrances for incredibly specific markets like, as Goodwin used as an example, for Brazilian millennials.
The algorithms used by Philyra span four main categories: raw material complements and substitutes, raw material dosage, human responses, and novelty level of the composition. With each of these taken into account, Symrise’s Philyra successfully designed two perfumes which are expected to go on sale next summer.
Before committing these fragrances to the market, however, “the initial formulas…were tweaked by a master perfumer to emphasise a certain note and improve how long it lasted on the skin.”
Once perfecting the algorithms used for creating fine fragrances, Philyra can be modified to other, less luxurious, fields of fragrances like laundry detergents, shampoos, or basically any other beauty or cleaning product we use.
Fragrance is integrated into basically every aspect the human experience. As Goodwin wrote, “the art and science of designing a winning perfume is something humans have explored for hundreds of years,” which means perfumers have hundreds of years of fragrances to sift through.
With a machine by their side, perfumers can focus on the art and human experience behind a fragrance, rather than trying to find a novel composition.