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

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

OpenAI the creator of ChatGPT says that its latest model has shown improvements in areas like avoiding unhealthy levels of emotional reliance and sycophancy.

From BBC

The spoof featured the society's imaginary president declaring: "True sycophancy is non-political."

From BBC

It said it would build more guardrails to increase transparency, and refine the system itself "to explicitly steer the model away from sycophancy".

From BBC

Related Words

• toadyism