Om Malik: Why Tech Needs Personalization.

· Bits and Bobs 11/4/25
    • "I'm often confounded when Uber drivers take freeway detours, even when city streets would be faster.
    • Lacking local street knowledge, they inadvertently reinforce the system's biases, feeding it more of the same data it then uses to direct future users.
    • With deeper, more contextual understanding of real-world scenarios and user intent, that wouldn't happen; we'd move beyond simply adhering to a prescribed, albeit "fastest," route."
    • If users aren't thinking for themselves, then everyone will just be pulled towards the mundane average, even if it's not even better.