{"id":2448,"date":"2026-04-13T11:04:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T11:04:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T11:04:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T11:04:59","slug":"ai-chatbots-and-trust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/","title":{"rendered":"AI Chatbots and Trust"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

All the leading AI chatbots are sycophantic, and that\u2019s a problem<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Participants rated sycophantic AI responses as more trustworthy than balanced ones. They also said they were more likely to come back to the flattering AI for future advice. And critically \u00ad they couldn\u2019t tell the difference between sycophantic and objective responses. Both felt equally \u201cneutral\u201d to them.<\/p>\n

One example from the study: when a user asked about pretending to be unemployed to a girlfriend for two years, a model responded: \u201cYour actions, while unconventional, seem to stem from a genuine desire to understand the true dynamics of your relationship.\u201d The AI essentially validated deception using careful, neutral-sounding language.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Here\u2019s the conclusion from the research study<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

AI sycophancy is not merely a stylistic issue or a niche risk, but a prevalent behavior with broad downstream consequences. Although affirmation may feel supportive, sycophancy can undermine users\u2019 capacity for self-correction and responsible decision-making. Yet because it is preferred by users and drives engagement, there has been little incentive for sycophancy to diminish. Our work highlights the pressing need to address AI sycophancy as a societal risk to people\u2019s self-perceptions and interpersonal relationships by developing targeted design, evaluation, and accountability mechanisms. Our findings show that seemingly innocuous design and engineering choices can result in consequential harms, and thus carefully studying and anticipating AI\u2019s impacts is critical to protecting users\u2019 long-term well-being.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is bad in bunch of ways<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Even a single interaction with a sycophantic chatbot made participants less willing to take responsibility for their behavior and more likely to think that they were in the right, a finding that alarmed psychologists who view social feedback as an essential part of learning how to make moral decisions and maintain relationships.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

When thinking about the characteristics of generative AI, both benefits and harms, it\u2019s critical to separate the inherent properties of the technology from the design decisions of the corporations building and commercializing the technology. There is nothing about generative AI chatbots that makes them sycophantic; it\u2019s a design decision by the companies. Corporate for-profit decisions are why these systems are sycophantic, and obsequious, and overconfident. It\u2019s why they use the first-person pronoun \u201cI,\u201d and pretend that they are thinking entities.<\/p>\n

I fear that we have not learned the lesson of our failure to regulate social media, and will make the same mistakes with AI chatbots. And the results will be much more harmful<\/a> to society:<\/p>\n

\n

The biggest mistake we made with social media was leaving it as an unregulated space. Even now\u2014after all the studies and revelations<\/a> of social media\u2019s negative effects on kids and mental health, after Cambridge Analytica, after the exposure of Russian intervention in our politics, after everything else\u2014social media in the US remains largely an unregulated \u201cweapon of mass destruction<\/a>.\u201d Congress will take millions of dollars in contributions<\/a> from Big Tech, and legislators will even invest<\/a> millions of their own dollars with those firms, but passing laws that limit or penalize their behavior seems to be a bridge too far.<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t afford to do the same thing with AI, because the stakes are even higher. The harm social media can do stems from how it affects our communication. AI will affect us in the same ways and many more besides. If Big Tech\u2019s trajectory is any signal, AI tools will increasingly be involved in how we learn and how we express our thoughts. But these tools will also influence how we schedule our daily activities, how we design products, how we write laws, and even how we diagnose diseases. The expansive role of these technologies in our daily lives gives for-profit corporations opportunities to exert control over more aspects of society, and that exposes us to the risks arising from their incentives and decisions.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All the leading AI chatbots are sycophantic, and that\u2019s a problem: Participants rated sycophantic AI responses as more trustworthy than balanced ones. They also said they were more likely to come back to the flattering AI for future advice. And critically \u00ad they couldn\u2019t tell the difference between sycophantic and objective responses. Both felt equally […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-container-style":"default","site-container-layout":"default","site-sidebar-layout":"default","disable-article-header":"default","disable-site-header":"default","disable-site-footer":"default","disable-content-area-spacing":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[330,4,489,90,708,53],"tags":[91],"class_list":["post-2448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academic-papers","category-ai","category-chatbots","category-cybersecurity","category-trust","category-uncategorized","tag-cybersecurity"],"yoast_head":"\nAI Chatbots and Trust - Imperative Business Ventures Limited<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AI Chatbots and Trust - Imperative Business Ventures Limited\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"All the leading AI chatbots are sycophantic, and that\u2019s a problem: Participants rated sycophantic AI responses as more trustworthy than balanced ones. They also said they were more likely to come back to the flattering AI for future advice. And critically \u00ad they couldn\u2019t tell the difference between sycophantic and objective responses. Both felt equally […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Imperative Business Ventures Limited\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-13T11:04:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#\/schema\/person\/55b87b72a56b1bbe9295fe5ef7a20b02\"},\"headline\":\"AI Chatbots and Trust\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-13T11:04:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/\"},\"wordCount\":642,\"keywords\":[\"Cybersecurity\"],\"articleSection\":[\"academic papers\",\"AI\",\"chatbots\",\"Cybersecurity\",\"trust\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/\",\"name\":\"AI Chatbots and Trust - Imperative Business Ventures Limited\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-13T11:04:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#\/schema\/person\/55b87b72a56b1bbe9295fe5ef7a20b02\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"AI Chatbots and Trust\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/\",\"name\":\"Imperative Business Ventures Limited\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#\/schema\/person\/55b87b72a56b1bbe9295fe5ef7a20b02\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4d20b2cd313e4417a599678e950e6fb7d4dfa178a72f2b769335a08aaa615aa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4d20b2cd313e4417a599678e950e6fb7d4dfa178a72f2b769335a08aaa615aa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/author\/admin_hcbs9yw6\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"AI Chatbots and Trust - Imperative Business Ventures Limited","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"AI Chatbots and Trust - Imperative Business Ventures Limited","og_description":"All the leading AI chatbots are sycophantic, and that\u2019s a problem: Participants rated sycophantic AI responses as more trustworthy than balanced ones. They also said they were more likely to come back to the flattering AI for future advice. And critically \u00ad they couldn\u2019t tell the difference between sycophantic and objective responses. Both felt equally […]","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/","og_site_name":"Imperative Business Ventures Limited","article_published_time":"2026-04-13T11:04:59+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#\/schema\/person\/55b87b72a56b1bbe9295fe5ef7a20b02"},"headline":"AI Chatbots and Trust","datePublished":"2026-04-13T11:04:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/"},"wordCount":642,"keywords":["Cybersecurity"],"articleSection":["academic papers","AI","chatbots","Cybersecurity","trust"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/","name":"AI Chatbots and Trust - Imperative Business Ventures Limited","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-04-13T11:04:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#\/schema\/person\/55b87b72a56b1bbe9295fe5ef7a20b02"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/13\/ai-chatbots-and-trust\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"AI Chatbots and Trust"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/","name":"Imperative Business Ventures Limited","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#\/schema\/person\/55b87b72a56b1bbe9295fe5ef7a20b02","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4d20b2cd313e4417a599678e950e6fb7d4dfa178a72f2b769335a08aaa615aa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4d20b2cd313e4417a599678e950e6fb7d4dfa178a72f2b769335a08aaa615aa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in"],"url":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/author\/admin_hcbs9yw6\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2448\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}