Airbnb gained technology to judge 'narcissism' of guests and confirmed it owns the rights to software that judges the “narcissism” or “psychopathy” of people who use the app.

Airbnb has confirmed it owns the rights to software that judges the “narcissism” or “psychopathy” of individuals who use the app.

The software scans user’s online presence to predict whether or not they're trustworthy, trawling through internet posts and social media activity to ascertain if the person has any traits of “neuroticism” or “Machiavellianism”.

In a statement to Business Insider, an Airbnb spokesperson confirmed that it owns the patent.

The software was patented in the US, and is understood to have been inherited by the booking site following the acquisition of another company.  It is not clear how much of the technology has been utilised by the booking site.

It is designed to judge the personality of guests, and allocate them a score for trustworthiness, which is arrived at by weighing various possible traits.

Initial plans were put forward in 2014, with the most recent patent issued in 2019 by the EPO.

Patent documents state that the technology is for “determining the trustworthiness and compatibility of a person and, in particular, assessing behavioral and personality traits of a person”.

However, it said it isn’t currently using all of the software’s screening methods as outlined within the software patent filed last year.

“As with the other company, there are variety of patents we file, starting from searching listings to automating booking availability, and it doesn't mean we necessarily implement all or a part of what’s in them,” said the spokesperson.

While Airbnb’s website says it uses “predictive analytics and machine learning” to spot any dubious users, it's unclear what aspects of the screening software are currently getting used .

Source : https://www.bandt.com.au/airbnb-patents-software-judges-narcissism-users/