Comment by cbeach

ChatGPT isn't the only online platform that is trained by user feedback (e.g. "likes").

I suspect sycophancy is a problem across all social networks that have a feedback mechanism, and this might be problematic in similar ways.

If people are confused about their identity, for example - feeling slightly delusional, would online social media "affirm" their confused identity, or would it help steer them back to the true identity? If people prefer to be affirmed than challenged, and social media gives them what they want, then perhaps this would explain a few social trends over the last decade or so.