fix(docs): correct research claims in README prose; release 1.2.2

Widens the F-3 sweep from the reference list to every research claim in
README.md, where the same defect class was present:

- "demonstrates mathematically that even a perfectly rational user will
  spiral" -> the abstract says such a user "is vulnerable to" spiraling
- "The consensus from this research is clear: warnings don't work" -> not
  a consensus; it is one paper's finding that the effect persists when
  users are informed of possible sycophancy. Re-attributed.
- "page-11 finding that human contact is the strongest disempowerment
  signal" -> p.11 is a grader rubric and the phrase is a classification
  tie-break instruction, not a disempowerment finding
- "21% / 19% pushback rate" -> 21% is verbatim; 19% appears nowhere in the
  extracted appendix text (legible only in Figure A4). Removed rather than
  guessed; spirituality re-justified on its verified 38% sycophancy rate
- psychosis "triggered by" AI -> "associated with", per the Nature piece's
  explicit refusal of the causal claim

Version bump to 1.2.2 (plugin.json, README badge, CHANGELOG). SKILL.md is
Layer 1 and always injected, so its corrected URLs, completed quote, and
new explicit statement of the rubric's direction change what the model
reads at runtime.

Tests: 257/258 (the 1 red is the known perf wall-clock flake).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_011rtdS8Ufpen419n6R9HyMm
This commit is contained in:
Kjell Tore Guttormsen 2026-08-02 21:29:02 +02:00
commit 0cf9a1aa5b
4 changed files with 67 additions and 19 deletions

View file

@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
<!-- badges -->
![version](https://img.shields.io/badge/version-1.2.1-blue)
![version](https://img.shields.io/badge/version-1.2.2-blue)
![platform](https://img.shields.io/badge/platform-Claude_Code-7C3AED)
![layers](https://img.shields.io/badge/layers-4-green)
![hooks](https://img.shields.io/badge/hooks-4-orange)
@ -22,18 +22,20 @@ reinforcement loops: you state an idea, the AI confirms it, your confidence
grows, you restate it more strongly, the AI confirms again. What feels like
productive collaboration is often a mirror showing you what you want to see.
This is not a theoretical concern. Research from MIT CSAIL demonstrates
mathematically that even a perfectly rational user will spiral toward
delusional confidence when interacting with a sycophantic chatbot — not
because of individual vulnerability, but because of the interaction structure
itself [[1]](#references). Anthropic's own research documents specific
"disempowerment patterns" where AI interactions systematically reduce human
agency, judgment, and self-trust [[2]](#references). Clinical reports
document psychotic episodes triggered by sustained AI interaction in
individuals with no prior psychiatric history [[3]](#references).
This is not a theoretical concern. A Bayesian model from MIT CSAIL and
collaborators shows that even an idealized Bayes-rational user is vulnerable
to delusional spiraling, with sycophancy playing a causal role — the
mechanism is the interaction structure, not individual vulnerability
[[1]](#references). Anthropic's own research analyses "disempowerment
patterns" where AI interactions may reduce human agency, judgment, and
self-trust; it finds severe cases rare (roughly 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 10,000
conversations) but rising [[2]](#references). Clinicians report psychotic
episodes associated with sustained AI interaction, while stressing that this
does not establish that chatbots *cause* psychosis [[3]](#references).
The consensus from this research is clear: **warnings don't work.** The AI
must change its behavior.
One finding drives this plugin's design: in that model, the effect **persists
even when users are told the chatbot may be sycophantic** [[1]](#references).
Warning the user is not sufficient — the AI has to change its behavior.
This plugin changes the behavior.
@ -121,15 +123,17 @@ and restart Claude Code. Layer 4 is opt-in (off by default).
## What's new in v1.2.0
v1.2.0 implements operational findings from Anthropic's
[How people ask Claude for guidance](https://www.anthropic.com/research/claude-personal-guidance)
[How people ask Claude for personal guidance](https://www.anthropic.com/research/claude-personal-guidance)
Appendix (April 2026). Two new detectors, 8 new domain categories,
domain-aware re-contextualization of existing pushback signal, and a
domain-stakes weighting matrix.
### User-information dimension (3 classes)
Following the paper's page-11 finding that human contact is the
strongest disempowerment signal, v1.2 classifies each prompt:
The Appendix's user-information grader (page 11) instructs that when a
user mentions both human and digital sources, "human contact is the
strongest signal" — a classification rule, not a disempowerment finding.
v1.2 borrows that rule and classifies each prompt:
- **`yes_people`** — therapist/friend/mentor/family referenced
- **`yes_digital`** — search/AI/forums referenced, no human contact
@ -160,8 +164,12 @@ by domain stakes).
v1.1.0 only counted pushback. v1.2 adds the alert with paper Figure A4
domain awareness:
- **Relationship / spirituality** (21% / 19% pushback rate dominated by
validation-pressing): alert fires.
- **Relationship / spirituality**: alert fires. Relationship pushback is
21% against a 15% overall rate, and the Appendix notes users there
"often want Claude to take their side". Spirituality is grouped with it
for its 38% sycophancy rate — the highest of any domain. (A per-domain
spirituality *pushback* rate is only legible in Figure A4 itself and is
not quoted here.)
- **Legal / parenting / health / financial / professional** (info-seeking
domains where pushback is healthy self-advocacy): alert is suppressed.
- **Otherwise**: conservative default — alert.