Warning labels shift perceptions of sycophantic AI, but not its influence
Recent work has raised concerns about the influence of sycophantic AI on user judgment and relationships. One proposed mitigation, which has received regulatory attention, is to warn users about potentially harmful AI behaviors such as sycophancy. In a preregistered experiment in which participants (N = 2,610) discussed real interpersonal conflicts with an AI system, we test whether warning labels mitigate sycophancy's influence. We find that a basic AI disclosure (``This chatbot is AI'') has no detectable effect. Labeling the system as sycophantic (``...may agree with you and validate you even when you are wrong...'') does shift users' perceptions, reducing perceived objectivity and trus...
| Authors | Lujain Ibrahim, Myra Cheng, Cinoo Lee et al. |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.HC |
| Published | 19 June 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 16 July 2026 |
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