Building DiscernAI: Decision-Making for Humans, Not Algorithms

From picking lunch spots to life-changing career moves, we make dozens of decisions every day. And for most of them, I found myself falling into the same trap: opening multiple browser tabs, reading conflicting advice, and still feeling unsure.

That’s exactly where I found myself last year. Despite having access to more information than any previous generation, making decisions had somehow become harder, not easier—whether I was choosing what show to stream next or weighing more significant options.

The Paralysis of Modern Choice

The problem wasn’t too little information, but too much. And worse—most of it wasn’t personalized to my values or circumstances.

It seemed like every recommendation was either:

• Optimized for someone else’s life priorities
• Steered by what was trending, not what was meaningful
• Lacking nuance about the tradeoffs involved

I kept thinking: “Why isn’t there a tool that helps me apply data-driven thinking to all my choices without forcing me to think like everyone else?”

From Frustration to Creation

That frustration became the genesis of DiscernAI. I wanted to build something that would:

1. Structure decisions of any size into manageable components
2. Leverage AI for objective analysis without replacing human judgment
3. Keep personal values at the center of decision-making
4. Make tradeoffs visually clear and understandable

The result is an iOS app that combines the power of Google’s Gemini AI with a framework that lets you define and weigh what matters most to YOU.

How It Works

DiscernAI isn’t about outsourcing your decisions—it’s about amplifying your decision-making capabilities:

• You identify options you’re considering
• You define criteria that matter for this specific decision
• You assign weights to those criteria based on your values
• The AI analyzes how each option meets your criteria
• You get visualizations that make tradeoffs transparent

There’s no black box telling you what to do. Just clarity about how your options align with what you care about.

Real-World Impact

I’ve used DiscernAI for everything from choosing where to eat lunch and finding the right healthy food for my dog to selecting a neighborhood to live in. Each time, I’ve appreciated how it keeps me anchored to my actual priorities instead of getting swept up in social pressure or decision fatigue.

A friend recently used it to decide between job offers. Instead of just comparing salaries (what everyone told her to focus on), she weighted factors like learning opportunities, commute time, and team culture based on her own values. She ended up taking a slightly lower-paying position that aligned better with her life goals—and later told me it was the best decision she’d made in years.

Another friend uses it weekly to decide which streaming shows to watch next—weighing criteria like genre, length, and reviews in ways that match his unique preferences. Now he spends more time watching and less time scrolling through endless options.

The Technology Behind It

For the technically curious:

• Built with SwiftUI for a responsive, native iOS experience
• Integrates Google’s Gemini AI for option analysis
• Uses Supabase for authentication and data synchronization
• Implements CoreData for offline functionality
• Follows MVVM architecture with protocol-oriented programming

Try It Yourself

DiscernAI is available now on the App Store. I built it because I believe we all deserve tools that enhance our humanity rather than replacing it. Tools that help us make choices we won’t regret later—whether those choices are about lunch today or life direction tomorrow.

Or scan this QR code:

If you try it, I’d love to hear which decisions it helps you with.

Because in a world that increasingly wants to decide things for us, making mindful choices might be the most human thing we do.