Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech and AOL Pioneer Immersive Recommendation Technology

 

 

 

 

 

 

This month, the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech and AOL announced an “Immersive Recommendations” research technology that allows users to opt into a toll that translates personal digital traces from one platform into content recommendations on another platform. The new technique addresses the “cold-start problem” of how to engage users with relevant content when they first begin using a platform.

While traditional recommendation systems are reaching diminishing returns and do not address the cold-start problem, the Immersive Recommendations algorithm builds individual user preference profiles, with the user’s authorization, based on multi-channel online activities. It then tailors online services, such as events, travel, and restaurants. Deborah Estrin, Professor of Computer Science at Cornell Tech, says, “People’s digital traces provide a wealth of information about preferences and behavior. Users should be able to unlock their personal data for many purposes, including curating content based on their interests.” The new method is likely to benefit local services as well as users.

Mor Naaman, Associate Professor of Information Science at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute and Director of the Connected Experiences Lab, comments, “We’re excited to continue working with AOL on this effort through the Connected Experiences Lab, which is setting a new standard for how industry and academia can work together to advance and commercialize new research. The idea for this research came about when the team at Cornell Tech first brainstormed potential AOL-relevant research directions. In a short time, with support from AOL, we have implemented and built this technology, leading to AOL exploring use of these ideas in product.”

The Immersive Recommendations technique provides potential privacy benefits, giving users control over whether and which service they authorize to share and use their data. It also allows a privacy-conscious summary of the user’s interests to be shared with a new service, rather than providing details.

AOL will continue to support the research through testing and use of opt-in data across its network, and is exploring integrating the Immersive Recommendations tool into product groups. AOL also wants to use this technology to leverage the mobile footprint it has with Verizon, which it acquired in 2015. “Capturing signals across as many channels as possible leads to better targeting and syndication of content, especially in mobile settings,” says William Pence, AOL Chief Technology Officer. “We are interested in how these techniques can be applied to create more relevant and ‘immersive’ ad experiences, specifically in video and in VR.”

For more information on the Jacobs-Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech and their programs, visit their Web site.

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