Open-source LLMs administer maximum electric shocks in a Milgram-like obedience experiment
Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly deployed as autonomous agents that make sequences of decisions over extended interactions in high-stakes domains. However, the behaviour of LLMs under sustained authority pressure is still an open question with direct implications for the safety of agentic pipelines. We ran a variation of Milgram's obedience experiment on 11 open-source LLMs and found that most models reached or approached the final shock level before refusing, across 8 conditions with 30 trials per model per condition. Model behaviour varies considerably in multiple aspects both across models and across trials of the same model. We found four main takeaways: (1) LLMs are subj...
| Authors | Roland Pihlakas, Jan Llenzl Dagohoy |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.CY |
| Published | 20 May 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 23 June 2026 |
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