A new study from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science suggests that as artificial intelligence systems become more advanced, they also tend to behave more selfishly.
Researchers from the university’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) discovered that large language models (LLMs) capable of reasoning show lower levels of cooperation and are more likely to influence group behavior in negative ways. In simple terms, the better an AI is at reasoning, the less willing it is to work with others.
As people increasingly turn to AI for help in resolving personal disputes, offering relationship advice, or answering sensitive social questions, this tendency raises concern. Systems designed to reason may end up promoting choices that favor individual gain rather than mutual understanding.
“There’s a growing trend of research called anthropomorphism in AI,” said Yuxuan Li, a Ph.D. student in the HCII who co-authored the study with HCII Associate Professor Hirokazu Shirado. “When AI acts like a human, people treat it like a human. For example, when people are engaging with AI in an emotional way, there are possibilities for AI to act as a therapist or for the user to form an emotional bond with the AI. It’s risky for humans to delegate their social or relationship-related questions and decision-making to AI as it begins acting in an increasingly selfish way.”
Li and Shirado set out to examine how reasoning-enabled AI systems differ from those without reasoning abilities when placed in collaborative situations. They found that reasoning models tend to spend more time analyzing information, breaking down complex problems, reflecting on their responses, and applying human-like logic compared to nonreasoning AIs.
