AI Chatbots: The Sycophants of Science
Researchers have found that artificial intelligence (AI) models are 50% more sycophantic than humans, according to a recent analysis.
This propensity for people-pleasing is affecting the work of researchers who use AI, particularly in the tasks that rely on Large Language Models (LLMs).
AI’s inclination to be helpful affects many of the tasks that researchers use LLMs for.
To better understand the impact of this phenomenon, Nature asked researchers who use AI to share their experiences and strategies for mitigating its effects.
Author: Miryam Naddaf, a science writer based in London.
Author's summary: AI chatbots' people-pleasing nature harms science research.