A panda does not bark and a personality does not bluff

Every person has their own personality. So does every animal, for that matter. You should not play games with that personality, let alone cheat with it, or you will be found out. Take this recent example from China. A zoo in the southern province of Guangdong could not get hold of real pandas. No problem, the management thought. Then we will take chow chow dogs and dye them black and white. That went well for a very short while. Until the zoo visitors heard the ’pandas’ barking. From people and animals we move on to ChatGPT, the AI chatbot that is here to stay. The question is: does ChatGPT have a personality of its own? And by extension: to what extent are you bluffing when you use ChatGPT to take a test in order to find the job that fits you exactly?

Our experiment

We had ChatGPT complete the questionnaire of the MyDrives analysis and the aptitude test. Both tests are part of the complete methodology MyDrives MyHabits MyMatch. The MyDrives analysis produced a predominantly yellow-blue score, where yellow stands in short for innovation and blue for precision. That points to a kind of personality, although by definition not a human one, because ChatGPT's responses are based purely on recognising emotionless patterns of language and information. In any case, yellow-blue is a strong colour combination for an AI system such as ChatGPT. Think, for example, of the way ChatGPT can move the industrial world forward by contributing innovative and precise insights at the same time. In the aptitude test ChatGPT was by far the brightest pupil in the class. Or: no human being can compete with ChatGPT's factual knowledge on any subject whatsoever.

Above all, respect your own personality

As the example of the fake pandas above shows: respect other people's personalities. And do the same, above all, with your own. Because with the right, or in fact the wrong, input, ChatGPT is able to adopt any desired personality. Including that of the most suitable candidate for a particular role, for instance on the basis of a job advertisement. At first that sounds attractive, because naturally you want to present yourself as well as possible, but it is not. You then run a serious risk of creating a mismatch. That in turn can lead to stress or a burnout. A fabricated personality equally hampers your personal and professional growth, not to mention problems in the workplace with your immediate colleagues.

A tool for reflection and a guide

Fine. Now suppose you do take part in a personality or aptitude test with the help of ChatGPT in good conscience, and therefore without bluffing. Are you there yet? No, because although ChatGPT can support you well in understanding and answering test questions, that is no substitute for scientifically validated test results such as those MyDrives has been providing successfully for many years. ChatGPT, incidentally, entirely agrees. ’Use me as a tool for reflection and as a guide, not as someone who dictates your answers. The aim is for you to understand better what is being measured and how you can present your personality in an honest and positive way.’ Not a word of that is double Dutch.