Owing to the aspirational state of issues, OpenAI writes, “Our manufacturing fashions don’t but absolutely replicate the Mannequin Spec, however we’re frequently refining and updating our programs to deliver them into nearer alignment with these pointers.”
In a February 12, 2025 interview, members of OpenAI’s model-behavior group advised The Verge that eliminating AI sycophancy is a precedence: future ChatGPT variations ought to “give trustworthy suggestions quite than empty reward” and act “extra like a considerate colleague than a folks pleaser.”
The belief drawback
These sycophantic tendencies aren’t merely annoying—they undermine the utility of AI assistants in a number of methods, in accordance with a 2024 analysis paper titled “Flattering to Deceive: The Impression of Sycophantic Habits on Consumer Belief in Massive Language Fashions” by María Victoria Carro on the College of Buenos Aires.
Carro’s paper means that apparent sycophancy considerably reduces consumer belief. In experiments the place contributors used both a typical mannequin or one designed to be extra sycophantic, “contributors uncovered to sycophantic habits reported and exhibited decrease ranges of belief.”
Additionally, sycophantic fashions can doubtlessly hurt customers by making a silo or echo chamber for of concepts. In a 2024 paper on sycophancy, AI researcher wrote, “By excessively agreeing with consumer inputs, LLMs could reinforce and amplify current biases and stereotypes, doubtlessly exacerbating social inequalities.”
Sycophancy may incur different prices, akin to losing consumer time or utilization limits with pointless preamble. And the prices could come as literal {dollars} spent—just lately, OpenAI Sam Altman made the information when he replied to an X consumer who wrote, “I’m wondering how a lot cash OpenAI has misplaced in electrical energy prices from folks saying ‘please’ and ‘thanks’ to their fashions.” Altman replied, “tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} effectively spent—you by no means know.”
Potential options
For customers annoyed with ChatGPT’s extreme enthusiasm, a number of work-arounds exist, though they are not good, because the habits is baked into the GPT-4o mannequin. For instance, you should utilize a customized GPT with particular directions to keep away from flattery, or you possibly can start conversations by explicitly requesting a extra impartial tone, akin to “Preserve your responses transient, keep impartial, and do not flatter me.”
