About a decade ago, a pair of researchers taught a computer to make a cup of coffee. Over a series of lessons, the machine learned to execute specific coffee-related actions in response to certain coffee-related cues. When the computer processed a cup with clear liquid, for instance, it knew to target an instant-coffee packet; when it registered a cup with brown liquid near a torn packet, it was time to reach for a spoon. The sequence continued all the way through adding cream, scooping sugar, and taking a sip.