Airbnb has been working on artificial intelligence software to identify personality traits in a bid to calculate the risk of guests. The service has seen an increase lately in bookings being used for parties and other unwanted activities. This previously led to Airbnb looking at ways to combat the problem, including personality assessments.
For many, Airbnb has become the default option when looking for a place to stay. More recently, there has been an increase in news reports of how the room-booking service is being used by some as more than just a bed for the night. So much so that in November of last year, the company’s co-founder and CEO, Brian Chesky, announced Airbnb was banning the service’s use for “party houses.” As part of the same announcement, Chesky also stated Airbnb was looking to crack down on “abusive host and guest conduct” in general. One of the ways it intends to do this is through more manual screening using its risk detection technology. It now seems AI is another of the ways Airbnb is considering identifying undesired guests.
The existence of the software came to light through a European patent spotted by the Evening Standard. The actual patent dates back a few years highlighting that this is a system the company has been working on for some time - although it was only published in the U.S. last year. Essentially, the software has the ability to scan the internet, including social media sites, to determine various traits of an individual. For example, how narcissistic or conscientious they might be. However, the limits of its character judgement don’t stop there with the AI also taking into account additional background information, such as whether the person has internet links to alcohol, drugs, or any other behavior deemed less than desirable. The sum of the searches are formed into what’s referred to in the patent as a “person graph” with even the sharing of certain news articles having the potential to increase or decrease a customer’s “trustworthiness” or “compatibility” score.
AI Scoring Suitability For Everything From Jobs To Airbnb Rentals
The use of AI for person searches is an issue that seems to be raising its head a lot lately. There’s already similar solutions in place in the recruitment industry to screen individuals to determine whether they are as personally suitable for a position as they are professionally. Similar solutions are also being developed and tested in the health insurance industry to determine suitability for coverage by taking into account more than just medical history.
While the use of AI in instances like this is not totally new, many might feel that AI probably shouldn’t extend to more mundane and short-lived activities like booking a room for a night. The problem is Airbnb evidently thinks AI can help. If that is the case, then the next time you are rejected for an Airbnb booking, it might have been artificial intelligence software auditing your social media feeds that determined the refusal.
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Source: Evening Standard
