AI sneaks into major beer competition – judges revolt

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more commonplace in our everyday lives, it’s hardly a surprise that it has found itself judging a prominent beer competition, but some are not happy with this turn of events and have been vocal about it.

Specifically, a major beer judging competition in Canada, organized by Best Beer earlier this year, introduced an AI-based judging tool in the middle of a contest, causing frustration among judges who believe the company used their evaluation notes to improve the AI, per a report from October 13.

In fact, one of these judges has even written an open letter, advocating against the use of AI in beer tasting and judging, prompting Best Beer to threaten legal action. The judge in question, Greg Loudon, who is a certified beer judge and brewery sales manager, said:

“It is attempting to solve a problem that wasn’t a problem before AI showed up, or before big tech showed up. (…) I feel like AI doesn’t really have a place in beer, and if it does, it’s not going to be in things that are very human. (…) There’s so much subjectivity to it, and to strip out all of the humanity from it is a disservice to the industry.”

Others have accused Best Beer of attempting to harvest human tasting data to profit from a planned consumer app, and more than 30 judges and brewers have signed the letter, demanding transparency and deletion of any AI-linked data, and stating:

“Their intention to gather our training data for their own profit was apparent. Many judges felt pressured to use the new system despite a variety of concerns, as their hotel accommodations, meals, etc, were dependent on their attendance of judging sessions. Others were ready to walk out the door over their concerns, with one judge commenting, ‘I am here to judge beer, not to beta test.’”

Even breweries joined the protest, including Alberta’s XhAle Brew Co., which demanded a refund and the destruction of its data, calling the move “a for-profit AI application (…) using industry volunteers.”

All’s well that ends well – or is it?

After months of backlash, the organizers backed down. In late September, Best Beer announced it was “stepping away” from the project, apologizing for poor communication and pledging to donate the AI tool’s assets to a non-profit. 

Still, the judges say the incident highlights a deeper issue, which is tech’s growing intrusion into spaces that were once purely human. As Loudon puts it: “The best beers are art forms. Strip away the human element, and it just becomes sanitized. Brewing is an art.”

Meanwhile, Geoffrey Hinton – often referred to as the ‘Godfather of AI’ – has issued a chilling warning about the existential threat posed by rapidly advancing AI systems, expressing deep concern that AI may soon outpace human intelligence in ways we can’t imagine or control, and arguing that, “unless we do something soon, we’re near the end.”