Your posts on social media can now predict the future

What does your online presence say about you? A lot apparently! Based on information from Facebook, with your permission, a new site can tell you a lot about your future.

I know what some of you are thinking: "My profile is too vague for any person or company to know anything about my life." But even if your account provides limited personal information, the program can still make assumptions about you based on the content you "Like."

Ubisoft, the video game developer behind popular games like "Assassin's Creed" and "Just Dance," partnered with the Psychometrics Centre of the University of Cambridge to create "Predictive World." This site uses analytics gathered from your Facebook profile, scientific studies, and demographics to make assessments about your life.

When you open the Predictive World page, it asks your permission for access to your Facebook account. You can input certain information yourself but the results may not be as complete. Then it takes a few moments to create a profile and this information is displayed as a wheel of categories like health, family, work, etc.

The program uses facts about your life to calculate the likelihood of certain events. For instance, the site calculated my life expectancy based on my gender and how many cigarettes I consume. Not all of the predictions are correct, but if you adjust the input then you can get a more accurate analysis.

In addition to facts, your profile is also comprised of information from surveys and studies. A survey might indicate that people who like action movies are more likely to have a certain personality type. If your page shows that you like action movies then it will assign those traits to your personality. Then it uses the traits to make predictions about other areas of your life. One study shows that people who make more money (up until a certain value) are happier. As a result, the "Satisfaction with Life" category is partially dependent on the "Income" category.

Do you think this site is interesting or creepy? Let me know in the comment section below.

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