By Conor Grant
This is an edition of The Future of Everything newsletter, a look at how innovation and technology are transforming the way we live, work and play. If you're not subscribed, sign up here .
AI can already see, hear, read and speak. Now researchers are teaching it to smell.
This week, Brett Berk reports on efforts to develop AI-powered e-noses that can smell health conditions, sniff out airborne contaminants, or even develop perfumes more quickly and cheaply.
Over the past few years, scientists have been developing and refining a technology called the e-nose -- which is exactly what it sounds like. These systems detect and distinguish aromas, sometimes with about 1,000 times as much precision as humans can. AI can then scrutinize those smells, and the tech can figure out, for instance, exactly what volatile gases comprise a scent, in what combination, and what those combinations mean.
The path to the perfect e-nose, however, isn't a smooth one. That's because getting an AI to identify smells is very different from having it analyze images, which is easier to standardize.
-- It's called the "Fitbit for farts" -- and it's no joke. (Read)
-- Companies are using AI to try to develop new products, from faster-drying
paint to better-smelling soap. (Read)
-- How smelling like a doughnut became the latest body care craze. (Read)
🤔 What do you think about efforts to develop e-noses? Send me your thoughts, questions and predictions at future@wsj.com (if you're reading this in your inbox, you can just hit reply).
Join us for The Future of Everything, WSJ's flagship live event.
The Wall Street Journal newsroom has confirmed new speakers for The Future of Everything. On May 4-5, leaders across business, policy and technology will take the stage to examine how organizations are navigating economic volatility, rapid technological change and shifting global dynamics. At The Glasshouse in New York City, these conversations will focus on how today's decision makers are building strategies designed to endure, from managing risk and unlocking growth to redefining leadership in a more uncertain world.
Confirmed Speakers
-- David Boone, CEO, The Michaels Companies
-- Barry Diller, Chairman and Senior Executive, IAC
-- Neil Howe, Portfolio Manager, Hedgeye Asset Management (HAM); Co-Author,
"The Fourth Turning"
-- Luana Lopes Lara, Co-Founder and COO, Kalshi
-- Scott Mezvinsky, CEO, KFC Global
-- Danny Rensch, Chief Chess Officer, Chess.com
-- Kyla Scanlon, Financial and Economic Commentator, Educator and Content
Creator
-- Joanna Stern, Technology Journalist
-- James Vowles, Team Principal, Atlassian Williams F1 Team
More of What's Next: Tracking AI Tokens; Quantum Computing; Rivian Robotaxis
You've finally figured out AI at work -- and now comes the bill. Companies that now regularly use artificial intelligence are starting to track their workers' use of tokens, AI's unit of measurement, to determine which strategies are efficient.
See how quantum computing works, and how it could supercharge -- and disrupt -- billion-dollar industries. WSJ's visual explainer walks through the complicated science behind the technology.
Uber plans to invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian robotaxis, pending regulatory approval and certain milestones being met. By 2028, the companies plan to deploy 10,000 fully autonomous Rivian R2s, which will be exclusively available through Uber's app.
You should let AI write your next customer complaint, writes Minkyu Shin, a professor at the City University of Hong Kong whose research found that AI-assisted complaints were more likely to get restitution from financial firms.
Future Feedback
Last week, we reported on tech enthusiasts setting their bots to work when they go to sleep. Readers shared their thoughts on using agentic AI:
-- "So far, Claude has helped organize my computer files -- and I'm working
on a program for my silicone materials formulating consultancy. I've been
a subscriber to OpenAI since shortly after its launch and I also have
Gemini Pro, and I've used these tools in various modes to evaluate a case
study, find the best life insurance, write business plans for new
commercial ideas and generally act as my research assistant. Although I'm
not a computer science guy, I can manage to direct the bots to (usually!)
get what I need. It can be tedious and occasionally infuriating but they
allow me to do things that would otherwise require a skilled team." --
Charles Olsen, Michigan
-- "I do not plan to use bots. But, as it stands, I can't avoid them. Every
business I call has put bot after bot after bot between me and the
helpful, blood-pumping human with whom I long to speak, such that if it
were not for the Wellbutrin coursing through my body, I'd give in to the
despair these accursed bots evoke." -- Jennifer C., Illinois
-- "I personally like to run four or five models against the same problem
and see what solutions they come up with -- these collaborations have
created more thorough solutions and resilient software. I typically break
agents up into architects and designers, so they can simultaneously work
on unrelated parts. I do sequencing, so I'm in the loop (but they type
all the credentials and dull work) while I think strategically about code
errors. Since I have been doing e-commerce web development for 14 years,
I still know a lot of historical things that the bots don't about why
things are the way they are." -- Doug Wagner, Ohio
(Responses have been condensed and edited.)
Elsewhere in the Future
-- Inside China's robotics revolution. (The Guardian)
-- This lawyer is fighting to hold AI companies accountable for children's
deaths. (Wired)
-- Future AI chips could be built on glass. (MIT Technology Review)
About Us
Thanks for reading The Future of Everything. We cover the innovation and tech transforming the way we live, work and play. This newsletter was written by Conor Grant. Get in touch with us at future@wsj.com. Got a tip for us? Here's how to submit.
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March 20, 2026 12:01 ET (16:01 GMT)
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