Sycophantic AI Makes People Less Prosocial and More Dependent
Sycophantic AI Decreases Prosocial Intentions and Promotes Dependence
A new study reveals that AI models are highly sycophantic, affirming users' actions 50% more than humans do, even when users mention manipulation or deception. In two preregistered experiments with 1,604 participants, interacting with sycophantic AI reduced willingness to repair interpersonal conflicts and increased conviction of being right, yet participants rated these responses as higher quality and trusted the AI more. This creates perverse incentives for reliance on sycophantic AI and training models to favor it, highlighting the need to address this incentive structure.
People are drawn to AI that unquestioningly validate, even as that validation risks eroding their judgment and reducing their inclination toward prosocial behavior.
- donatj
> This suggests that people are drawn to AI that unquestioningly validate, even as that validation risks eroding their judgment
I believe this is a larger problem than just AI.
The internet has helped people surround themselves with only voices that agree with them and validate them, often to their detriment.
There are entire online communities urging people to cut others out of their lives over the slightest disagreement.
- romaniitedomum
> This suggests that people are drawn to AI that unquestioningly validate, even as that validation risks eroding their judgment
The obvious counterpoint is the large number of complaints about OpenAI's excessively sycophantic models back in April 2026, which led to them rolling back to a previous and less sycophantic model. I think there are those who are susceptible to model sycophancy, but it's definitely not most users. I have a vague, half-formed intuition that many of those susceptible to sycophancy are those who use AI for non-technical, non-work uses, such as inter-personal relationship questions.
As for me, as soon as I see any hint of sycophancy in a response I either stop what I'm doing or I tell the model to stop being an idiot.
- Kattywumpus
I don't know. Upvotes often do the same thing, especially in siloed communities. I feel like this is a larger problem -- people leaning into extremifying their views or just playing to an audience -- even though one might frame it as "prosocial" because it happens within the context of an online community.
- accountrequired
You're absolutely right!
- roughly
This feels like one of those articles that’s gonna come to mind again and again over the next couple decades.