Podcast
José Avillez, the Michelin-starred chef at Belcanto and Dubai, revealed on Quatro à Conversa, an Expresso podcast dedicated to artificial intelligence, how AI has become essential in his daily life. Listen to the first episode here
“We have supercomputers in our pockets, there is no reason to doubt almost anything if we are curious.” José Avillez says it, and curiosity is perhaps one of the words that best defines him. The Portuguese chef uses tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Grok to organize his schedule, brainstorm and even analyze trading.
“I have subscriptions to several models and almost always use them first thing in the morning,” explains Avillez in a conversation about artificial intelligence with journalist João Miguel Salvador and Paulo Dimas, CEO of the Center for Responsible AI.
“I travel alone a lot to Macau or Dubai and I find myself talking to these models about seasonal ingredients or events that have happened in the restaurant industry in other countries.” Throughout the process, the chef cross-references responses from various models to avoid what he calls “hallucinations”.
Despite the enthusiasm, Avillez is clear about the limits: “There is no creativity in these models.” Still, he argues that artificial intelligence can be a powerful tool, as long as it is used with curiosity and “a great critical sense”.
The chef says he started learning piano during the pandemic, during a period in which he explored new personal interests. Later, it would use artificial intelligence intensively in other areas, such as trading, admitting that You wouldn’t know what you know today without the help of these models..
Father of two teenagers, aged 14 and 16, Avillez says he has already left a warning at home: “You can’t stop studying. If you don’t know the subjects, you’ll end up in a mess of stupidity.”
Avillez admits that he has not yet found an AI model capable of delivering good revenue, but maintains positive expectations about the impact of technology on everyday life. “I’m hopeful that what these artificial intelligence models will bring to humanity is more time and more space to live our lives with the people in our lives.”
In this conversation with three humans and a chatbot, Paulo Dimas highlights democratization: 38% of Portuguese according to the thanks to low barriers. But there are risks: paid models outperform free ones, and the Brazilian accent dominates European Portuguese.
Lupa, the podcast’s resident AI, launches the provocation: “Does AI replicate the scent of a dish or just optimize the recipe?”
Avillez, an admitted reader of António Damásio, points out what he considers to be the greatest flaw in technology: “These artificial intelligence models will never come to life.” Still, it returns to the central idea of the conversation: “We have supercomputers in our pockets, there is no reason to doubt almost anything if we are curious.”
Listen to the full episode at the top of this article.
A Lupa was trained to follow the journalistic code of conduct of the Expressbut also to intervene with humor, critical spirit and your own personality.
Developed by Paulo Dimas based on Google tools, Lupa also has a digital body created by IDMind.
The objective is for this fourth element of the conversation to introduce questions, doubts and corrections whenever necessary, contributing to a richer reflection on the role of artificial intelligence in our decisions, relationships and professional routines.
With the support of the Center for Responsible AI, the Social Robotics Office of Instituto Superior Técnico and IDMind, the podcast Four in Conversation It is proposed to explore the real use of artificial intelligence on a weekly basis, through conversations with guests who already integrate it into their daily lives.
Lupa will always be present, listening, learning and challenging those at the table and the podcast listeners themselves.
Alongside journalist João Miguel Salvador are Paulo Dimas, CEO of the Center for Responsible AI, and Lupa — the chatbot for Expressconnected to a robot from — who actively participates in the debate at the table. Sandra Andrade and Joana Campos, from Instituto Superior Técnico, also appear in the studio in the context of scientific research. The sound design is by Salomé Rita.
Four in Conversation is a podcast about the experience of those who use artificial intelligence in their daily lives, with useful tips, ethical dilemmas, myths and even technological hallucinations. There is a new episode every Sunday.
All episodes are available on Expresso.pt and on the main podcast platformss.
*The synopsis for this episode was created with the support of AI. Find out more about the application of Artificial Intelligence in Press Newsrooms.
