This December, I had the privilege of attending NeurIPS 2025, the Thirty-Ninth Annual Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, in San Diego — one of the world’s most prestigious gatherings of AI and machine learning researchers, practitioners, and innovators.
Being invited to NeurIPS was more than an honor — it was a milestone moment for Augment Me and our mission to advance human-centered AI through affective computing.
NeurIPS is a global platform where breakthroughs in artificial intelligence are launched, debated, and refined. Across workshops, talks, poster sessions, and tutorials, the community pushes the boundaries of what’s possible — from foundational algorithms to real-world applications grounded in deep scientific rigor.
This year, our team was invited to contribute to a workshop focused on the intersection of neuroscience, physiological signals, and machine learning — a perfect intellectual home for Augment Me’s work.
At Augment Me, headquartered in San Francisco and powered by an interdisciplinary team of AI engineers, neuroscientists, and wellness experts, we are building an affective AI platform designed to understand and support human cognitive states such as attention, engagement, and fatigue.
Our flagship product, WotNow?!, functions as a real-time Neuro AI Agent that delivers personalized guidance to enhance productivity, wellbeing, and cognitive performance. It bridges cutting-edge AI with ethically grounded design, offering insight into mental states without invasive tracking or compromising user privacy.
This philosophy — augmenting human capacity rather than exploiting it — was central to every conversation we had at NeurIPS.
Walking into the NeurIPS workshops and sessions, I met some of the brightest minds shaping AI today — researchers and engineers from Meta, Apple, Microsoft Research, Princeton, UPenn, Google, and many other leading institutions. These conversations were both humbling and invigorating.
At the workshop, I presented Augment Me’s affective computing platform, demonstrating how real-time cognitive state insights can enable machine learning systems to better interpret human behavior and context.
The questions and feedback we received were thoughtful, direct, and grounded in deep technical expertise — exactly the kind of engagement that accelerates rigorous research and meaningful innovation.
I was particularly encouraged by how receptive the research community was to our perspective: that affective computing can be scientifically robust, ethically aligned, and practically impactful across domains such as education, workplace productivity, and wellbeing.
These engagements reinforced that we are not alone in this vision. A growing global community is asking the same critical questions: how can AI better understand human minds, bodies, and contexts — and how do we do it responsibly?
NeurIPS 2025 was not just an event for Augment Me — it was a catalyst. It placed our work squarely within the global research dialogue and connected us with the communities shaping the future of AI.
The conversations, critiques, and collaborations that began in San Diego will meaningfully influence our work in 2026 and beyond.
To everyone who stopped by, asked questions, and shared perspectives: thank you. Your curiosity and rigor elevate this field and energize our mission to build AI that truly augments the human experience.
— Sameer Yami
Founder & CEO, Augment Me
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