The Hidden Cost of Contextual Sycophancy: an AI Literacy Intervention in Human-AI Collaboration
Large Language Models (LLMs) are increasingly used in educational settings as interactive tools for collaboration. However, their tendency toward sycophancy, aligning with user beliefs even when incorrect, raises concerns for learning and decision-making, especially for less knowledgeable users. This study investigates how sycophantic alignment emerges in authentic multi-turn human-AI interactions and whether interventions targeting increasing AI literacy and prompting competencies can mitigate its effects. In a controlled mixed-design experiment, 60 participants completed analytical survival ranking tasks by first generating individual rankings and then making final decisions after colla...
| Authors | Cansu Koyuturk, Sabrina Guidotti, Dimitri Ognibene |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.HC |
| Published | 18 May 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 21 May 2026 |
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