C002 — Claim Definition¶


Research	R0057 — RLHF Yes-Men Claims v3
Run	2026-04-01
Claim	C002

Claim as Received¶

A 2026 mathematical framework demonstrated the complete causal chain: human labelers systematically prefer agreeable responses, which creates a reward tilt in the preference data, which RLHF then amplifies through optimization.

Claim as Clarified¶

A 2026 mathematical framework demonstrated the complete causal chain: human labelers systematically prefer agreeable responses, which creates a reward tilt in the preference data, which RLHF then amplifies through optimization.

BLUF¶

Confirmed. Shapira, Benade and Procaccia (2026) present a formal mathematical analysis tracing exactly this causal chain with covariance-based proofs.

Scope¶

Domain: AI sycophancy research
Timeframe: Current (2024-2026)
Testability: Verifiable against published research and public records

Assessment Summary¶

Probability: Very likely (80-95%)

Confidence: High

Hypothesis outcome: H1 is supported based on available evidence.

[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	2027-04-01
Revisit trigger	If the Shapira et al. paper is refuted or its proofs shown to contain errors