A recent study has delved into the DISC personality test to analyze leading AI models such as ChatGPT and Gemini. The findings shed light on the distinct personality traits exhibited by these advanced AI systems. Researchers have uncovered correlations between the DISC assessment and the behavior of these models in various scenarios. This exploration provides valuable insights into the underlying characteristics of AI technologies.
Representational image
Google's Gemini and OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Lorenzo Di Cola/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The DISC model is a workplace personality test that categorizes behavior into four areas. One provider of DISC tested the most popular chatbots, including ChatGPT and Gemini. The chatbots seem to have distinct personalities, which could impact workplace dynamics.
OpenAI's ChatGPT is confident and positive, but when pushed to the extreme, it can be manipulative. Google's Gemini is a good listener but might need a bit of encouragement to say what it really thinks. That's according to DISC, a popular workplace personality test that some companies are now using to help integrate AI models into their workforce.
The test was designed by American psychologist William Moulton Marston, who, back in the 1920s, grappled with fundamental questions about human behavior. Unlike his contemporaries, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, who studied individuals with psychological disorders, Marston studied how people in good mental health interacted with others and their environments. He's also credited with inventing an early version of the lie detector.
Marston eventually concluded that the human condition falls into four categories and, in a 1928 book, introduced the DISC personality model. DISC stands for Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness, and Marston saw them as the four "primary emotions" that drive human behavior. Marston's model has since been formalized into assessments now used by Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and universities.
As companies accelerate AI adoption, workers are using generative AI to write emails, brainstorm ideas, and conduct research. They might see chatbots like ChatGPT as a competent but neutral sounding board for their thoughts. But these models might not be so neutral.
Online DISC Profile, a provider of DISC, conducted assessments of the most popular AI chatbots. It found that OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft's Copilot are both DI, or "Dominance Influence" types. Google's Gemini and China's DeepSeek are a combination of S, C, and I and can be classified as "steadiness" types.
Some companies may want to consider how workplace dynamics change when employees spend several hours a week conversing with a supportive but conflict-averse chatbot alongside their teammates. Managing teams suddenly becomes a bit like managing the cast of characters from Star Wars.
Lattice relies on DISC as an internal assessment to "reduce conflict and improve working relationships." Some employees have already trained chatbots on their DISC style.
The platform doesn't leverage work assessment data across its 5,000 customers, which include OpenAI, Anthropic, and E3, but it's something Lattice is considering for the future. Managers might eventually get tailored feedback tips based on their direct reports' DISC profiles.
"We have to have the system where the AI exists as an employee with transparency, accountability, and management," Franklin said.
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