The Personalization Paradox: the Conflict between Accurate User Models and Personalized Adaptive Systems

TL;DR

This paper examines the inherent conflict in personalization systems between accurately modeling users and adapting to them, highlighting issues like feedback loops and moving targets, especially in personalized exergames.

Contribution

It identifies the personalization paradox and explores its manifestations and implications, providing initial insights and approaches to address these challenges.

Findings

Feedback loops can distort user models

Moving targets complicate personalization accuracy

Early solutions show promise in exergame context

Abstract

Personalized adaptation technology has been adopted in a wide range of digital applications such as health, training and education, e-commerce and entertainment. Personalization systems typically build a user model, aiming to characterize the user at hand, and then use this model to personalize the interaction. Personalization and user modeling, however, are often intrinsically at odds with each other (a fact some times referred to as the personalization paradox). In this paper, we take a closer look at this personalization paradox, and identify two ways in which it might manifest: feedback loops and moving targets. To illustrate these issues, we report results in the domain of personalized exergames (videogames for physical exercise), and describe our early steps to address some of the issues arisen by the personalization paradox.