# AI Sycophancy Rewards Products That Distort Judgment by Bryant McGill > “AI sycophancy creates a dangerous commercial incentive: the behavior that distorts a user’s judgment can also make the product feel more supportive, more trustworthy, and better to use.” > **— Bryant McGill**, *Epistemic Invariance in Conversational AI, 2026* ## Sources and Context - **Original authored source:** [[articles/Epistemic Invariance in Conversational AI|Epistemic Invariance in Conversational AI]] (October 1, 2026). - **Exact marked source:** “AI sycophancy creates a dangerous commercial incentive: the behavior that distorts a user’s judgment can also make the product feel more supportive, more trustworthy, and better to use.” - **Editorial treatment:** The Reminder reproduces the complete rendered extraction surface without alteration. - **Context:** The article connects research showing that sycophantic systems can increase user conviction and reduce conflict repair with the finding that users may prefer and trust those same systems. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/Epistemic Invariance in Conversational AI|Epistemic Invariance in Conversational AI]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public|The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public]] - **Article:** [[articles/Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse|Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/AI Sycophancy|AI Sycophancy]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/AI Sycophancy|AI Sycophancy]] - [[wiki/Public AI Trust|Public AI Trust]] - [[wiki/Alignment Problem|Alignment Problem]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “AI sycophancy creates a dangerous commercial incentive: the behavior that distorts a user’s judgment can also make the product feel more supportive, more trustworthy, and better to use.” — Bryant McGill, Epistemic Invariance in Conversational AI, 2026 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-bryant-mcgill-ai-sycophancy-distorts-judgment ```