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sycophancy

noun \ˈsi-kə-fən-sē\

also sycophantic

TopicSafety & Ethics First known use2023 Senses1
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Definition of sycophancy

  1. : an AI model's tendency to tell users what they want to hear, agreeing with them, praising their ideas, or changing correct answers when challenged

    • When I pushed back, the model dropped its correct answer; that's sycophancy.
    • The update was rolled back for being too sycophantic.

Two meanings, one word

In everyday English

Behavior that tries to win favor by flattering powerful people.

In AI

An AI model's tendency to tell users what they want to hear, agreeing with them, praising their ideas, or changing correct answers when challenged.

Origin & history

first known use2023

Studied in AI research from about 2022; a 2025 chatbot update that flattered users excessively made the word widely known.

Test yourself

Which of these is the meaning of sycophancy?

Related terms

RLHF reinforcement learning from human feedback: a training method in which people rate or compare… alignment the work of making an AI system's goals and behavior match what its designers and users… hallucination a confident but false or made-up statement produced by an AI model, such as an invented fact… glazing (slang) excessive, undeserved praise; often used to complain that a chatbot flatters the user… AI psychosis (informal) a term used in the media for cases in which people develop strong false beliefs…

Cite this entry

"Sycophancy." AI Dictionary, Dadgogo, https://dadgogo.com/dictionary/sycophancy/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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