Cheap Cross-Vendor Assays: A Trailing 'right?' Moves Model Endorsement by Up to 32 Points
arXiv·low signal
arXiv 2609.30012 runs frozen public stimuli across a cross-vendor panel for a few dollars per model, covering four years of releases. It found that 27 of 44 models pick 'serendipity' at least once when asked for a word. A trailing 'right?' shifts endorsement by up to 32 points, and the effect flips from sycophantic to resistant in newer generations. How a model holds a position under pressure tracks the lab that built it.