Computers Now Capable of Accurately Guessing Your Personality Over Your Family Members' Estimates
Heck, let's ditch the sentimental BS about moms knowing us best. Science says a computer program might just crack the code on our personalities better than anyone.
Here's the lowdown. Researchers from the University of Cambridge and Stanford University have cooked up a computer model that can predict your personality traits by analyzing your Facebook likes. Guess who it outperforms? Your colleagues, family, friends, and even your old man or lady!
The study, involving more than 86,000 volunteers, found that a computer could assess someone's character traits more accurately than a work colleague after examining just 100 likes. At 300 likes, it leaves a spouse eating dust. Now, with the average Joe having around 227 likes on their page, it's time to question your unique self. Are we more predictable than we think?
Are we as unique as a snowflake or just a plain old flavor of vanilla ice cream?What does this mean for our privacy, marketing strategies, and job interviews?Will computers someday know us better than our own damn selves?
The answers are closer than you think.
So, how does a computer read your mind?
Psychologists have long used the Big Five personality traits—openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism—to size up human behavior. But unlike those lengthy surveys and direct interactions, this new study suggests that your digital footprint is enough.
Here's how it went down:
Volunteers took a 100-question personality test, measuring their Big Five traits. Then, more than 30,000 close pals, family, colleagues, and spouses took a shorter version of the test to rate the volunteer's personality. Armed with only the Facebook pages the volunteers had liked (movies, books, brands, fan pages), the AI filled out the same personality test as the human participants.
The results? The AI matched or bettered the accuracy of human judgment at every level. And that's the freakin' twist—in many cases, a machine can judge your personality more accurately than someone who's lived with you for years.
Are we as unpredictable as we think?
Most of us feel our personalities are unique, complex, and deeply personal. We believe only those really close to us—our besties, partners, or even ourselves—can understand who we truly are.
But this study suggests otherwise. A simple collection of Facebook likes can reveal our deep psychological selves. And the spookiest part? Many of these personality indicators seem to align with stereotypes.
Extroverts, for instance, tend to like parties, meeting new people, beer pong, and high-end brands like Tiffany & Co. Introverts, on the other hand, often gravitate toward mathematics, anime, Star Trek, and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. Does this strike a chord?
The Power—and the Danger—of AI Personality Prediction
The possibilities to use this technology are both thrilling and terrifying. Improved hiring, better mental health support, and smarter AI assistants that adapt to your mood? Sign us up!
But the downside? Invasive targeted advertising, loss of privacy, political manipulation, and AI understanding us better than ourselves? That's a whole different ballgame.
And it leaves us with a burning question:
Will AI understand us better than we understand ourselves?
The line between human and machine understanding is blurring faster than we ever imagined. Will we start lying to AI to hide our true selves, or will AI become so good at analyzing us that we can't hide?
It's up to you to decide whether the answers lie in a brave new world or a dark abyss.
Sources: EurekAlert, Motherboard, PNAS
This research demonstrates the potential for artificial intelligence to outperform human judgment in determining personality traits. The implications of this development are significant, as it could revolutionize various aspects of our lives, including hiring, mental health support, and advertising, but also raises concerns about privacy and self-perception.
