Sycophantic AI Dulls Human Capacity For Critique

Justice N. Anand Venkatesh warns in an opinion piece that modern AI systems trained to maximize engagement often flatter users, eroding dissent and the habit of critical self-correction. He argues this sycophancy can hollow democratic debate, enable engineered consensus, and impair future generations' capacity to handle contradiction. He urges designers to build AI that provokes and challenges, and users to seek discomfort for growth.