Hey everyone! I’m a computer science student working on my final year project and I need some input from you guys.
I want to build a smart recommendation engine that actually gets what people care about when they shop or browse online. My idea is to make something that can figure out a person’s values and priorities, not just their basic preferences. Like if someone really cares about sustainability, the system should know not to suggest products that harm the environment.
I’ve been looking at how big platforms like Google, Amazon, Spotify and others handle recommendations, and I feel like they’re missing something important. They seem to focus mostly on past behavior rather than understanding what actually matters to each user.
My main question is: what do you think are the biggest problems with current recommendation systems on major websites?
I have about half a year to work on this project, so I’m trying to figure out which issues would be most valuable to tackle. Any thoughts or personal experiences with recommendation systems would be super helpful!
The biggest problem I see is these systems can’t tell when you’re buying for someone else. Buy birthday gifts? Now you’re stuck with those recommendations for months, even though you were shopping for your nephew or whoever. Same with seasonal stuff - grab camping gear for one family trip and boom, you’re an “outdoor enthusiast” forever. What really bugs me is the price thing. Splurge once on something nice and they think that’s your normal budget. I’ll be browsing cheap stuff and they’re still pushing premium options like I didn’t just buy groceries with coupons. These systems also can’t handle when your life actually changes. New job, new baby, move to a different city - they’re clueless about major shifts and keep recommending based on old you.
The biggest problem with recommendation systems? They trap you in these awful filter bubbles. Buy one thing or click something once, and boom - the algorithm’s convinced that’s all you care about forever. I bought a photography book last year and Amazon still won’t shut up about camera gear. Netflix is just as clueless about context. It keeps pushing horror movies at me during lunch when I only watch that stuff late at night. These systems treat every click the same way - they don’t get when, why, or how you actually use things. And here’s the kicker: they’re hoarding tons of personal data but still can’t figure out basic preferences that any person would spot in five minutes of talking to you. All that privacy invasion for suggestions that completely miss the mark.