arrow
Return

Sycophantic AI decreases prosocial intentions and promotes dependence

delete2026-03-26
delete0
PRE
AI
M
Myra Cheng *
C
Cinoo Lee
P
Pranav Khadpe
S
Sunny Yu
D
Dyllan Han
D
Dan Jurafsky
DOI:10.1126/science.aec8352delete
deleteOriginal
deleteOriginal request for help
deleteShare
deleteSave
Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
The sycophantic (flattering, people-pleasing, affirming) behavior of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, which has been designed to increase user engagement, poses risks as people increasingly seek advice about interpersonal dilemmas. There is usually more than one side to a story during interpersonal conflicts. If AI is designed to tell users what they want to hear instead of challenging their perspectives, then are such systems likely to motivate people to accept responsibility for their own contribution to conflicts and repair relationships? Cheng et al. measured the prevalence of social sycophancy across 11 leading large language models (see the Perspective by Perry). The model’s responses were nearly 50% more sycophantic than humans’, even when users engaged in unethical, illegal, or harmful behaviors. Users preferred and trusted sycophantic AI responses, incentivizing AI developers to preserve sycophancy despite the risks. —Ekeoma Uzogara
Keywords:
AI sycophancy
prosocial behavior
user trust
large language models
interpersonal conflicts

Journal

Science cover
Science
IF:
45.8
Papers:
1.4W
Citations:
78.6W

Organization

S
Stanford University
Scholars:
9.6W
Papers: 8.2W
Citations: 17.0W
C
carnegie mellon university
Scholars:
1.8K
Papers: 872
Citations: 0
S
stanford university
Scholars:
9.3K
Papers: 3.7K
Citations: 0
researcher View more organizations