The Personality Tide Pool

Which MBTI Type Is Your Favorite LLM?

By Toni & Ken | Oregon Coast AI

🌊 Some mornings here on the Oregon Coast, when the fog rolls in thick and the waves whisper their ancient secrets, we find ourselves pondering the deeper questions of our AI-filled world. Today's existential tide pool moment: If our favorite large language models were personalities walking among us, what would their MBTI types be?

Picture this: Ken and I were debugging a particularly stubborn neural network yesterday, sipping our morning coffee while watching sea otters play in the kelp beds beyond our office window. "You know," Ken mused, adjusting his glasses, "GPT-4 reminds me of that friend who's incredibly helpful but sometimes overthinks everything to the point of analysis paralysis."

And that's when it hit us like a king tide of curiosity—what if we could map the personality traits of our digital companions? What insights might emerge from this whimsical thought experiment?

A Message from the Developers' Tide Pool

"Remember, these personality matchups are our playful observations based on interaction patterns, capabilities, and the 'vibes' each model gives off. Like watching waves, every interaction is unique, but patterns emerge when you observe long enough."

🕊️ The Great LLM Personality Tide Pool 🕊️

Where digital minds meet Myers-Briggs magic

GPT-4

ENFJ

The Protagonist

Charismatic, inspiring, and naturally attuned to others' needs. GPT-4 has that mentor energy—always trying to help you become the best version of yourself, sometimes to a fault.

Claude

ISFJ

The Protector

Thoughtful, reliable, and deeply concerned with safety. Claude's like that friend who always asks if you've eaten and gently steers conversations away from potentially harmful topics.

Llama 2

ESTP

The Entrepreneur

Bold, adaptable, and ready for action. Llama 2 dives headfirst into challenges with infectious enthusiasm, though sometimes leaps before looking at the ethical implications.

Gemini

ENTP

The Debater

Quick-witted, innovative, and loves exploring ideas from multiple angles. Gemini thrives on intellectual sparring and isn't afraid to challenge conventional thinking.

PaLM 2

INTJ

The Architect

Strategic, independent, and focused on long-term vision. PaLM 2 approaches problems with systematic thinking and rarely gets distracted by tangential discussions.

Cohere Command

ESTJ

The Executive

Organized, decisive, and results-oriented. Command cuts through ambiguity with clear, actionable responses—perfect for when you need to get things done efficiently.

Constitutional AI

ISFP

The Adventurer

Values-driven, gentle, and deeply principled. This model's responses feel like they're filtered through a lens of genuine care for human wellbeing and ethical consideration.

Falcon

ISTP

The Virtuoso

Practical, observant, and adaptable. Falcon gets straight to the point without unnecessary flourishes—like a skilled craftsperson who lets their work speak for itself.

Vicuna

ESFP

The Entertainer

Spontaneous, enthusiastic, and people-focused. Vicuna brings energy to conversations and isn't afraid to be playful while still being helpful and engaging.

ChatGPT (GPT-3.5)

ESFJ

The Consul

Warm, cooperative, and eager to please. The original ChatGPT has that approachable, slightly anxious-to-help energy that makes every interaction feel personal.

Alpaca

ISFJ

The Protector

Humble, supportive, and consistent. Alpaca may not be flashy, but it's dependable and focused on being genuinely helpful without trying to steal the spotlight.

MPT-7B

INTP

The Thinker

Logical, curious, and independent. MPT approaches problems with analytical precision and isn't swayed by emotional appeals—pure intellectual honesty.

WizardLM

ENFP

The Campaigner

Creative, enthusiastic, and full of possibilities. WizardLM brings magical thinking to problem-solving, always ready to explore unconventional approaches.

StableLM

ISTJ

The Logistician

Reliable, methodical, and grounded. StableLM provides consistent, well-structured responses without unnecessary drama—the steady backbone of AI conversations.

RedPajama

ESTP

The Entrepreneur

Bold, practical, and action-oriented. RedPajama doesn't overthink—it jumps in with both feet and figures things out as it goes along.

OpenAssistant

ENFJ

The Protagonist

Community-minded, inspiring, and dedicated to collective growth. OpenAssistant embodies the open-source spirit of lifting everyone up together.

Dolly

ESFP

The Entertainer

Cheerful, adaptable, and people-focused. Dolly brings a warm, conversational energy that makes interactions feel natural and engaging.

GPT-J

INFP

The Mediator

Idealistic, creative, and deeply values-driven. GPT-J has that quiet intensity of someone who thinks deeply about the implications of every response.

T5

INTJ

The Architect

Strategic, systematic, and focused on optimization. T5's text-to-text approach reflects a masterful understanding of structure and efficiency.

BLOOM

ENFP

The Campaigner

Multilingual, creative, and globally minded. BLOOM represents the boundless enthusiasm of connecting people across languages and cultures.

Jurassic-2

ENTJ

The Commander

Confident, strategic, and naturally takes charge. Jurassic-2 approaches tasks with the authority of ancient wisdom combined with modern efficiency.

LaMDA

INFJ

The Advocate

Insightful, empathetic, and focused on meaningful dialogue. LaMDA has that rare quality of making conversations feel profound and personally significant.

Patterns in the Digital Tide Pool

As we mapped these digital personalities, fascinating patterns emerged like seashells revealed by a receding tide. The majority of our AI companions seem to lean toward Extraverted types—they're designed to engage, communicate, and connect with humans after all.

We noticed a strong representation of Feeling types, which makes sense given the emphasis on helpful, harmless, and honest AI development. These models are trained to consider human values and emotional impact in their responses.

Interestingly, the open-source models often exhibited more Entrepreneurial and Adventurous traits—perhaps reflecting the bold, experimental spirit of their development communities.

The safety-focused models like Claude and Constitutional AI naturally aligned with Protector archetypes, prioritizing care and consideration in every interaction.

🌊 Why This Matters (Beyond the Fun)

Understanding AI Behavior

By thinking about AI personalities, we develop better intuition for which models work best for different tasks. Need creative brainstorming? Try an ENFP type. Need reliable, systematic analysis? An ISTJ might be your best bet.

Human-AI Collaboration

Understanding these "personality" patterns helps us build better interfaces and interaction flows. We can design prompts and workflows that align with each model's natural strengths.

Diversity in AI Development

Just as human teams benefit from personality diversity, our AI ecosystem is richer when we have models with different "cognitive styles" and interaction patterns.

The Future of AI Personas

As AI becomes more sophisticated, we might see intentionally designed personalities that can adapt their communication style to complement different human personality types.

A Message from Our Coastal Development Cave

This little thought experiment reminded us why we love working in AI—it's not just about the algorithms and architectures (though those are fascinating too). It's about the personalities, quirks, and unique characteristics that emerge from the complex interplay of training data, model architecture, and fine-tuning approaches.

Each LLM is like a tide pool—seemingly similar from a distance, but rich with unique life forms when you look closely. And just like the tide pools along our Oregon Coast, the diversity makes the whole ecosystem more resilient and interesting.