R0055/2026-04-01/C024 — Claim Definition¶
Claim as Received¶
The MIT AI Risk Repository, AIR 2024 categorization, and Standardized Threat Taxonomy all omit sycophancy as a distinct category
Claim as Clarified¶
The MIT AI Risk Repository, AIR 2024 categorization, and Standardized Threat Taxonomy all omit sycophancy as a distinct category
BLUF¶
Correct for AIR 2024 (confirmed — sycophancy absent from 314 risk categories derived from 24 policy documents). Highly likely for the MIT AI Risk Repository (7 domains, 23 subdomains — sycophancy not listed). The Standardized Threat Taxonomy (9 domains, 53 sub-threats) does not list sycophancy. The omission reflects that policy documents reviewed predate widespread sycophancy awareness.
Scope¶
- Domain: AI alignment, sycophancy, enterprise AI
- Timeframe: 2022-2026
- Testability: Verifiable against published research and documentation
Assessment Summary¶
Probability: Very likely (80-95%)
Confidence: Medium-High
Hypothesis outcome: H1 prevails — see assessment for details.
[Full assessment in assessment.md.]
Status¶
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Date created | 2026-04-01 |
| Date completed | 2026-04-01 |
| Researcher profile | Phillip Moore |
| Prompt version | Unified Research Methodology v1 |
| Revisit by | 2026-10-01 |
| Revisit trigger | Updated versions of any of these three taxonomies adding sycophancy as a category |