Researchers at Stanford University and the University of Cambridge found that computers know a person's personality better than his or her friends and family.
The study involved more than 86,000 participants who volunteered to answer a 100-item long personality questionnaire. Facebook friends and family members of the participants answered a 10-item questionnaire while the computer based its personality judgements on 10 Facebook likes.
The analysis showed that the computer judged the participants' personalities more accurately than their friends and family. Friends needed 70 likes; family members needed 150; while spouses needed 300 likes for them to provide accurate personality judgement.
"Given that an average Facebook user has about 227 likes (and this number is growing steadily), artificial intelligence has a potential to know us better than our closest companions do," wrote the study authors in a press release.
Researchers Michal Kosinski, co-lead author and a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford's Department of Computer Science; Wu Youyou, co-lead author and a doctoral student at the University of Cambridge; and David Stillwell, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, explained that computers performed better in personality judgements because they can store and review large quantities of information and make detailed analysis as opposed to humans. Human judgements tend to have biases, which lead to inaccuracy.
The computer analysis of one's personality was based on the articles, videos, artists and other posts he or she had liked on Facebook.
The finding of the study can be useful in the development of tools that can be used for data-driven decision-making, such as profiling people for a specific job based on their personalities.
"The ability to judge personality is an essential component of social living - from day-to-day decisions to long-term plans such as whom to marry, trust, hire or elect as president," said Stillwell.
The researchers admitted that computers still have limitations, as it won't be able to judge someone who doesn't an online profile.
The study was published in the Jan. 12 issue of the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences.
