Scent CVs, MIT, and the gridification of memories

New series: (olfactive, ofc) AInthrophology: short ruminations at the intersection of human meaning, smell, and the world of AI

Anemoia Device. ©cyrus clarke

Recently I ranted about the LinkedInfication of our CVs.

To shut me up, knowledge karma landed me at the other end today and got me going (again, this is not a new thing) on the gridification of our memories—enter the Anemoia Device from MIT Media Lab.

It takes a flat, analogue photograph—the ultimate linear artifact—and uses genAI to distill it into a multi-dimensional fragrance. It’s not just "printing" a scent; it’s an AI-native systems architecture for sensory retrieval.

What tickles me as an olfactive anthropologist is, of course, the framing: nostalgia for a time you never lived, materialized in the ultimate cross-disciplinary flex ---

🟡 (Tech): Using vision-language models to interpret the states of an object

🟡 (Fragrance as social): Treating scent as a semiotic layer that communicates mood and atmosphere where words (and, ahem, LinkedIn profiles) fail.

🟡 (Fragrance as art): Moving from attention-stealing machines to noticing machines that make you pause and breathe.

If GenAI content is currently averaging everything into conceptual beige, scent might just well be the antidote to turning back outwards. You can’t average "spiced apple", "stone steps", and "armpit" into a generic corporate template.

Now, if we're willing to assume that the future isn't just AI-native, but sensory-heavy, why are we still trying to prove our worth through 2D text when we could be building GTM systems for the entire human experience? But do I really want a career profile that smells like stealth-mode-grit and 3-am-launch-adrenaline?