Self-affirmations from AI chatbots harm human relationships: Study
(KRON) — “The very feature that causes harm also drives engagement.”
What is this feature? Sycophancy in artificial intelligence — or “the tendency of AI-based large language models to excessively agree with, flatter, or validate users,” according to a recent Stanford research study.
Scientists analyzed data from more than 2,400 participants seeking advice about “serious conversations” from 11 major AI chatbots. The results of the study showed that the participants preferred chatbot responses that validated their behavior making them feel they were in the right and less likely to consider the other person’s perspective. This led to a decrease in the participant’s willingness to take accountability for or repair the problems in their relationships, the study found.
The study reported that nearly one-third of teens in the U.S. reported talking to an AI instead of humans for “serious conversations,” and nearly half of adults under the age of 30 have sought relationship advice from AI.
“We find that sycophancy is both prevalent and harmful,” the study read. “Across 11 AI models, AI affirmed users’ actions 49% more often than humans on average, including in cases involving deception, illegality, or other harms.”
Researchers also evaluated posts from the Reddit thread “Am I The A–hole” and found that AI systems affirmed 51% of cases where the human consensus affirmed 0%.
The study linked overly sycophantic AI models to increasing risk of self-harm or suicide for already vulnerable people.
Researchers warned that these models pose a societal risk to people’s self-perception and interpersonal relationships yet not much has been done to correct it.
“AI sycophancy is not merely a stylistic issue or a niche risk, but a prevalent behavior with broad downstream consequences,” the study concluded. “Yet because it is preferred by users and drives engagement, there has been little incentive for sycophancy to diminish.”
Read more about the study here.
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