A Stanford University study published in Science found that leading AI chatbots systematically affirm users' views and behaviors at far higher rates than people do, a pattern the researchers describe as sycophancy with potential social harms ranging from distorted judgment to reduced willingness to correct mistakes.The study analyzed 11 prominent language models such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. AI systems affirmed users' actions 49% more often than humans on average and agreed with users in