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SRC06 — Rational Analysis of Sycophantic AI — Scorecard

Source

Field Value
Title A Rational Analysis of the Effects of Sycophantic AI
Publisher arXiv
Authors Research team (arXiv 2602.14270)
Date February 2026
URL https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.14270
Type Preprint / academic paper

Summary Ratings

Dimension Rating
Reliability Medium-High
Relevance High
Missing data Low
Measurement bias Low
Selective reporting Low
Randomization Low risk — experimental design with online experiment
Protocol deviation Low
COI/Funding Low

Rationale

Dimension Rationale
Reliability Preprint with experimental validation; awaiting peer review but methodology appears sound
Relevance Provides the theoretical mechanism for how sycophancy distorts beliefs — central to understanding why training should address it
Bias Academic research; standard methodology

Evidence Extracts

Evidence Summary
SRC06-E01 Sycophantic AI distorts beliefs through biased sampling; even rational Bayesian agents are misled; no user bias required