AIs have “personalities” – here’s how they affect you more than you might think

Many people interact with large AI language models and most of them would say that the models have different “personalities.” Some models appear calm and useful. Others feel eager, flattering, or strangely cold. You can ask two models the same question and leave two very different impressions, even if the factual content they return is similar.

Artificial intelligence models do not have personalities in the human sense; They have no childhood, no inner motives or no self-confidence. But they show behavioral patterns that people interpret as personality: supportive or dismissive, playful or formal, brave or cautious.

People have long had a human connection with machines. We thank voice assistants and are annoyed by GPS systems. But large language models introduce something more lasting: they can maintain a recognizable interaction style across conversations. As a human-AI collaboration researcher, I study how people experience and respond to AI.