A startup's quixotic quest to fight AI slop
A startup called Taste Labs hired creatives to teach AI what is good and what isn't. It raises the question, do we want AI to define what is great?
Taste Labs, a San Francisco-based startup, is attempting to revolutionize the creative process through artificial intelligence by addressing the issue of "AI slop" — AI-generated content that is technically proficient but lacks the discernment to identify and exclude mediocre or harmful elements. The company's CEO, Thais Castello Branco, believes that taste is a form of pattern recognition and that AI has the potential to master it.
Taste Labs aims to create a taxonomy of quality by breaking down creative works into measurable elements and training AI models with curated data from a network of about 1,000 "Tastemakers" — experts in creative fields such as design, writing, and fashion. The goal is to improve the ability of AI models to judge and measure quality in subjective domains, where context, culture, and differing opinions can make the "right answer" ambiguous.
Taste Labs is starting with visual design, a field in flux with the rise of tools like Figma, Claude Code, and Cursor. The company's Tastemaker panel can largely agree on the merits or flaws of individual design elements, such as the placement of introductory text on a recipe website. The company plans to expand into other areas, including copywriting, literary fiction, music, and cinematography.
The idea of AI defining taste may seem hubristic for a company based in Silicon Valley, the birthplace of many unconventional ideas. However, Taste Labs' CEO acknowledges that her own taste may be simplistic and admits that the company's ambitious goal is a tall order. Despite the skepticism, the company has secured $18.5 million in venture capital funding and is experiencing business growth.
Written by urgent.news from Business Insider's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
