Words as a Mirror: AI Reads Personality from Language

A University of Michigan study shows generative AI models (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, LLaMa) can predict personality traits, daily emotions, and behaviors by analyzing people’s own words from diary-like notes and thoughts. AI-based personality ratings closely match or surpass self-ratings and can even align with or outperform close others in predicting life patterns, emotions, and mental-health indicators. While promising, the study notes limitations—relying on self-reports for ground truth and not yet testing across diverse demographics—and calls for further work comparing AI judgments with friends/family and broader outcomes. Published in Nature Human Behavior, the findings suggest language naturally encodes personality signals and that AI can analyze them rapidly.