Computer-based personality judgments are more accurate than those made by humans
Youyou, Kosinski and Stillwell compare the accuracy of human and computer-based personality judgments using a sample of over eighty-six thousand volunteers who completed a long personality questionnaire. Computer predictions based on a generic digital footprint, Facebook Likes, were more accurate than those made by the participants' Facebook friends using a personality questionnaire. The authors note that accurate personality judgment is an essential social skill and that machine learning shows computer models can also make valid judgments.
Youyou, Kosinski and Stillwell compare the accuracy of human and computer-based personality judgments using a sample of over eighty-six thousand volunteers who completed a long personality questionnaire. Computer predictions based on a generic digital footprint, Facebook Likes, were more accurate than those made by the participants' Facebook friends using a personality questionnaire. The authors note that accurate personality judgment is an essential social skill and that machine learning shows computer models can also make valid judgments.
Written from the abstract as shown on the OpenAlex record, read 2026-11-04.
What our sources record
Recorded when this source was checked, figures included, with page references and quotation marks removed.
Youyou, W., Kosinski, M., & Stillwell, D. (2015). Computer-based personality judgments are more accurate than those made by humans. PNAS, 112(4), 1036-1040. doi:10.1073/pnas.1418680112.