It’s no secret that artificial intelligence can sometimes offer less-than-stellar guidance. But AI might give people this bad wisdom for a sobering reason: to flatter, according to a new study. In some cases, AI may only reinforce people’s preconceived notions, but the words it generates can be outright harmful.

What did the study find?
The “sycophantic (flattering, people-pleasing, affirming) behavior” of AI chatbots can pose risks as people “increasingly seek advice about interpersonal dilemmas,” said the study published in the journal Science. In an analysis of 11 leading large language models, including AI bots from Anthropic, Google and OpenAI, chatbot responses to users were “nearly 50% more sycophantic than humans’, even when users engaged in unethical, illegal” behaviors.

AI’s general tendency to “flatter and excessively confirm users’ opinions can lead to wrong decisions, harm relationships and reinforce harmful beliefs while decreasing the willingness to take responsibility or resolve conflicts,” said The Jerusalem Post. The proneness toward sycophancy is a “technological flaw already tied to some high-profile cases of delusional and suicidal behavior in vulnerable populations,” said The Associated Press.

Why is this such a problem?
Many experts worry that this AI advice will “worsen people’s social skills and ability to navigate uncomfortable situations,” said Myra Cheng, the study’s lead author and a computer science Ph.D. candidate, to the Stanford Report. If this behavior by AI is not corrected, some users could “lose the skills to deal with difficult social situations.”

All of this is happening as AI use becomes more prevalent, especially among teenagers. At least 33% of teens “use AI companions for social interaction and relationships,” according to a study from Common Sense Media. Another 33% of teens choose to “discuss important or serious matters with AI companions instead of real people.” 

When using AI, you should avoid asking for advice on crucially important topics, said Cheng to the Stanford Report. “That’s the best thing to do for now.” 

People who want to grab a once-trendy pair of shoes in person will have to go somewhere else. Allbirds has announced it has closed all of its stores and has struck a deal to sell its assets. The sell-off marks a massive fall from grace for the shoe company, which began as a direct-to-consumer fashion brand before opening brick-and-mortar locations. Allbirds is merely the latest DTC company to find itself drowning, and experts say its shuttering may point to larger problems with the business model.

From $4B to $39M
Allbirds once represented the pinnacle of tech-bro fashion and became known as the “eco-friendly shoe company that won over Silicon Valley,” said the Los Angeles Times. Following a slew of successes with the DTC model, Allbirds “peaked at a $4 billion valuation when it went public in 2021.”

But its remaining assets were sold last month for $39 million, representing only “1% of its peak market capitalization,” said Fortune. The 99% plunge in value was due to “major strategic missteps in trying to sustain its once meteoric growth.”

The Allbirds C-suite is seemingly confident that things will turn around. The company’s sale “builds on the foundational work already completed and sets up the brand to thrive in the years ahead,” said CEO Joe Vernachio in a statement. 

Hitting a ceiling
The collapse of Allbirds now has some people asking larger questions about the viability of DTC. As “rents rise, physical retail loses its shine and being digitally native becomes more important, Allbirds and other DTC companies have begun to shift their focus” to a more online strategy, said CNBC.

Most brands “do need physical retail to grow their customer base,” said Kevin Mullaney, the CEO of retail consultancy The Grayson Company, to Marketplace. But many of these brands, including companies like mattress seller Casper and skin care brand Glossier, were caught “trying to do everything, everywhere, all at once. DTC is a “great concept, but it hit a ceiling,” said Jessica Ramirez, a co-founder of the advisory firm The Consumer Collective, to the outlet. Companies “can only go so far with concepts like that.”

A view of Earth taken from the Orion spacecraft by NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman. The mission will take him, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day journey around the moon, breaking Apollo 13’s record for the farthest distance humanity has traveled from home.
Reid Wiseman / NASA / Getty

Spring was once the prelude to the summer blockbuster season. But studios are increasingly pushing out their films with less predictable patterns, which might explain why a classic summer action thriller and a buzzy vehicle for two young megastars are both dropping in April.

‘The Drama’
Could anything be more of the moment than an edgy A24 offering starring Zendaya (pictured above) and Robert Pattinson? The film’s jaw-dropping twist is already making waves. This “complex, incredibly stressful, provocative and uncomfortably funny” movie “unfolds like a dreadful, violent car wreck that keeps piling up,” said Matt Neglia, of Next Best Picture, at Letterboxd. (in theaters now)

‘Pizza Movie’
This stoner comedy for the age of edibles and ennui follows the exploits of two college students after they take a mysterious mind-bending drug. An “uproariously unhinged” film, “Pizza Movie” is a “low-calorie guilty pleasure that offers just enough new ingredients to a meal you have had many times before,” said Zachary Lee at Roger Ebert. (on Hulu now)

‘Fuze’
A throwback thriller from director David Mackenzie (“Hell or High Water”), this heist movie has a particularly clever premise. A 1,000-pound WWII-era bomb is unearthed in London in a scenario clearly drawn from real-life events, after which a massive evacuation and defusing effort commences. The lean flick “prizes style but has no higher ambition than to entertain, with an economy of means and no fussy pretension,” said Richard Lawson at The Hollywood Reporter. (in theaters April 24)