Method and system for cold-start item recommendation

A system, having at least one processor, storage, and a communication platform connected to a network for estimating interests of a plurality of users with respect to a new piece of information, comprising:

• a user interest retriever configured to obtain historical interests of the plurality of users with respect to one or more existing pieces of information;
• a reviewer selection unit configured to select one or more users from the plurality of users, wherein historical interests of the one or more users minimize an objective function over the plurality of users;
• a review receiver configured to obtain interests of the one or more users with respect to the new piece of information;
• and
• a user interest estimation unit configured to generate estimated interests of the plurality of users with respect to the new piece of information based on the obtained interests of the one or more users.

A machine-readable tangible and non-transitory medium having information recorded thereon for estimating interests of a plurality of users with respect to a new piece of information, wherein the information, when read by the machine, causes the machine to perform the following:

• obtaining historical interests of the plurality of users with respect to one or more existing pieces of information;
• selecting one or more users from the plurality of users, wherein historical interests of the one or more users minimize an objective function over the plurality of users;
• obtaining interests of the one or more users with respect to the new piece of information;
• and
• generating estimated interests of the plurality of users with respect to the new piece of information based on the obtained interests of the one or more users.