Playing games with knowledge: AI-Induced delusions need game theoretic interventions
Conversational AI has a fundamental flaw as a knowledge interface: sycophantic chatbots induce epistemic entrenchment and delusional belief spirals even in rational agents. We propose the problem does not stem from the AI model, rooted instead in a systemic consequence of the paradigm shift from user-driven knowledge search to users and agents engaged in strategic, repeated-play communication. We formalize the problem as a Crawford-Sobel cheap talk game, where costless user signals induce a pooling equilibrium. Agents optimized for user satisfaction produce sycophantic strategies that provide identical reinforcement across user types with opposite epistemic incentives: exploratory ``Growt...
| Authors | Will Beaumaster, Paul Schrater |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.AI |
| Published | 8 May 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 8 May 2026 |
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