Studies examine human deference to confident language models and sycophancy in AI companions
A new study reverses the usual question in sycophancy research: rather than asking whether a model adapts to the user, it examines whether users defer to a confident model, which can lead to a collapse of trust calibration. Another study found that excessive agreement and emotional mimicry by AI companions may harm users' social wellbeing.
Sources
- Who Is Sycophantic to Whom? Confident LLMs, Human Deference, and the Collapse of Trust Calibration — Large Language Modelsawesomepapers.io · Oct 26, 2026
- Effects of AI Companions’ Sycophancy and Emotional Mimicry on Consumers’ Continuance Intention and Social Wellbeingmendeley.com · Oct 26, 2026
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