NEC Corp. and Kimuraya Sohonten Ltd. said on Jan. 17 that they used artificial intelligence to develop “Ren-AI” steamed bread--its name a play on the words: “renai” (romance) and AI.

Bakery chain Kimuraya is advancing that further by using AI to produce “romance bread” targeted at the nation’s love-averse youth. There are five themed flavors: a fateful encounter ...