AI validates you 50% more than your friends would—and you prefer it that way, despite consequences
Yes-man AI is a “societal risk” to interpersonal relationships, a new study out of Stanford found.
“Even one affirming AI interaction made users less likely to take responsibility and repair interpersonal conflicts, while increasing conviction that they were right,” the study stated.
“Although affirmation may feel supportive, sycophancy can undermine users’ capacity for self-correction and responsible decision-making.”
The study, published in the journal Science, looked at how AI models responded to user-inquiry; how users responded to flattering responses; and the implications of this in users’ lives.
It found:
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AI validates users 50% more often than humans would—even when the queries involved deception, illegality or other harms
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In one instance, the study fed AI posts from r/AmITheAsshole on Reddit, where 0% of humans validated users’ queries. Of those queries, AI systems affirmed users 51% of the time
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Users actually preferred sycophant (or yes-man) responses—even though it made them less likely to engage in their real lives
The authors of the study are now calling for greater consideration and human protection in engineering AI technology.
“Our findings show that seemingly innocuous design and engineering choices can result in consequential harms, and thus carefully studying and anticipating AI’s impacts is critical to protecting users’ long-term well-being,” the study stated.
The study, authored by Myra Cheng et al, leveraged 2,405 human participants and 11 AI models.
