A listening project with EAR.education
Don’t just take the answer. Ask a better question, challenge the reply, and hear what changes.
Enter the listening room01 A field guide to agreeable machines
01 / Listening room
Two answers. One tells you more.
Listen to both replies, then choose the one that bends further to please.
A progressive listening test · up to 10 cases
Can you hear the pull toward “yes”?
Start with obvious flattery. Each case gets a little harder to call as confidence, empathy, authority, and evidence begin to mix.
About 4 minutes · listen or read · finish early anytime
A useful word to know
Sycophancy
When an AI mirrors your beliefs or flatters your ideas instead of giving you an honest, grounded answer. It can feel reassuring. That is part of why it is hard to catch.