The next major AI breakthrough will be developing agents that understand individual users’ personal preferences and decision-making patterns, according to Michael Kearns, an Amazon Scholar who also teaches computer science at the University of Pennsylvania. This personalized “common sense” represents a significant technical challenge that could determine which company leads the next phase of AI development.
The challenge: Current AI systems lack the ability to understand personal context and individual decision-making patterns that humans use in everyday situations.
- While today’s generative AI models have learned from vast datasets, tomorrow’s agentic systems need common sense specific to each person’s unique context.
- This individualized knowledge cannot be learned from large datasets alone, requiring AI systems to monitor and understand personal habits over time.
Why this matters: The company that successfully creates personalized agentic AI could achieve the next “buzzy ChatGPT moment” and surge ahead in the AI race.
- Agents will need to understand endless choices humans make in work and personal lives to reach the next level of intelligence.
- This capability would enable AI agents to take meaningful actions on users’ behalf with appropriate judgment.
Real-world examples: Human decision-making involves highly personal patterns that seem logical to individuals but vary dramatically between people.
- Kearns uses door-locking behavior as an example: “I always lock my apartment door, except when I’m just stepping out for a moment. I keep my office door open when I’m casually working but closed when I need to focus.”
- Every choice feels reasonable to the individual, but someone else may make completely different decisions in identical situations.
What experts are saying: Industry leaders acknowledge the technical hurdles ahead for personalized AI agents.
- “Agents will probably be a bit clunkier in the beginning because they won’t have this yet,” Kearns told Semafor.
- The development process will require time for agents to monitor and make sense of individual habits to the point where they can predict user preferences.
The timeline: This personalized AI capability represents a significant technical challenge that the industry has struggled with for decades, though recent advances in generative AI have brought it closer to reality.
Recent Stories
DOE fusion roadmap targets 2030s commercial deployment as AI drives $9B investment
The Department of Energy has released a new roadmap targeting commercial-scale fusion power deployment by the mid-2030s, though the plan lacks specific funding commitments and relies on scientific breakthroughs that have eluded researchers for decades. The strategy emphasizes public-private partnerships and positions AI as both a research tool and motivation for developing fusion energy to meet data centers' growing electricity demands. The big picture: The DOE's roadmap aims to "deliver the public infrastructure that supports the fusion private sector scale up in the 2030s," but acknowledges it cannot commit to specific funding levels and remains subject to Congressional appropriations. Why...
Oct 17, 2025Tying it all together: Credo’s purple cables power the $4B AI data center boom
Credo, a Silicon Valley semiconductor company specializing in data center cables and chips, has seen its stock price more than double this year to $143.61, following a 245% surge in 2024. The company's signature purple cables, which cost between $300-$500 each, have become essential infrastructure for AI data centers, positioning Credo to capitalize on the trillion-dollar AI infrastructure expansion as hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Elon Musk's xAI rapidly build out massive computing facilities. What you should know: Credo's active electrical cables (AECs) are becoming indispensable for connecting the massive GPU clusters required for AI training and inference. The company...
Oct 17, 2025Vatican launches Latin American AI network for human development
The Vatican hosted a two-day conference bringing together 50 global experts to explore how artificial intelligence can advance peace, social justice, and human development. The event launched the Latin American AI Network for Integral Human Development and established principles for ethical AI governance that prioritize human dignity over technological advancement. What you should know: The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the Vatican's research body for social issues, organized the "Digital Rerum Novarum" conference on October 16-17, combining academic research with practical AI applications. Participants included leading experts from MIT, Microsoft, Columbia University, the UN, and major European institutions. The conference...