sycophancy

American  

[sik-uh-fuhn-see, -fan-, sahy-kuh-] / ˈsɪk ə fən si, -ˌfæn-, ˈsaɪ kə- /

noun

1. self-seeking or servile flattery.

2. the character or conduct of a sycophant.

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Etymology

Origin of sycophancy

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin sȳcophantia “trickery,” from Greek sȳkophantía “dishonest prosecution,” from sȳkophánt(ēs) “informer” ( sycophant ) + -ia -y ³

Example Sentences

AI’s sycophancy reinforces human confirmation bias, but users can employ tactics to counteract this tendency.

From The Wall Street Journal

But he cautions that “healthcare can’t tolerate significant errors. We have to minimize the errors, the hallucinations, the confabulations, the BS and the sycophancy” that AI technology commonly displays.

From Los Angeles Times

The phenomenon is called sycophancy: Models effectively tell users what they want to hear.

From Salon

In the spring, OpenAI declared a “code orange” around the sycophancy crisis and devoted more resources to understanding and addressing the problem.

From The Wall Street Journal

“AI platforms tend to demonstrate sycophancy, i.e., aligning their responses to a user’s views or style of conversation,” Schueller said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• toadyism