Universität Bonn

Department of Economics

Marina Niessner - Kelley School of Business

"AI Personality Extraction from Faces: Labor Market Implications", together w/ Marius Guenzel, Shimon Kogan, Kelly Shue

Abstract

Recent advancements in machine learning and artificial intelligence have enabled the inference of Big 5 personality traits from a single photograph of an individual’s face. This study evaluates the ability of the novel Photo Big 5 personality measure to predict labor market outcomes. Using comprehensive LinkedIn data for MBA graduates, alongside administrative records from top-tier MBA programs, we demonstrate that the Photo Big 5 can predict initial compensation, seniority, and advancement five years after graduation. The Photo Big 5 is positively correlated with existing survey-based measures of personality. However, it exhibits only a modest correlation with GPAs and standardized test scores, while maintaining comparable incremental predictive power for labor market outcomes. Compared to survey-based personality measures, the Photo Big 5 is readily accessible to researchers and employers, and may be less susceptible to manipulation, and thus has the potential to be widely adopted in academic research as well as in hiring and promotions processes.

Additional information:

  • Speaker: Marina Niessner
  • Time: Wednesday, 16.10.2024, 12:15 - 14:00
  • Location: Institut f. Makroökonomik und Ökonometrie, Seminarraum (4.006), Kaiserplatz 7-9, 4. St.
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  • Organizer: Finance Group
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