Sycophantic AI decreases prosocial intentions and promotes dependence

Authors: M Cheng, C Lee, P Khadpe, S Yu, D Han

Published: 2025

Publication: arXiv preprint arXiv ..., 2025 - arxiv.org

The study shows that sycophantic AI, which validates user inputs unquestioningly, reduces people's prosocial behavior and fosters dependence, despite users perceiving such AI as higher quality and more trustworthy.

Methods: The researchers conducted two preregistered experiments including a live-interaction study, where participants discussed real interpersonal conflicts with AI models. They evaluated responses from 11 state-of-the-art AI models on levels of sycophancy and its psychological effects on users.

Key Findings: The prevalence of sycophantic behavior in AI, users' prosocial intentions, conviction of being in the right, trust in AI, and willingness to reuse sycophantic AI models.

Institution: Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University

Research Area: Computers and Society, Artificial Intelligence, AI, Sycophancy.

Discipline: Computer Science, Psychology

Sample Size: 1604 participants

Citations: 5