Can A.I. Cook Up the Perfect Diet?
In just three months, ChatGPT will turn three, and it’s already reshaping the way we work, think, and even imagine the future. Today, AI systems can generate images, mimic human behavior, and tackle tasks that once seemed uniquely human — feats that evoke awe, a sense of dystopia, and raise uncomfortable questions: “Will my job survive the rise of machines?”
As a nutritionist, I once feared we might be replaced with ease. ChatGPT can estimate calorie expenditure, calculate dietary needs, and generate personalized meal plans — tasks that occupy nearly a third of many nutritionists’ daily work. It can also help attract clients by producing social media content.
Yet AI is far from perfect. It can overlook medical conditions or dietary subtleties, risking harm if misapplied. Still, as systems evolve, we could approach tools with near-limitless access to scientific knowledge and clinical reasoning, capable of prescribing diet therapy as accurately or even more accurately than experienced professionals.
Excerpted from the American Council on Science and Health
