Overview
Conformity bias occurs when agents defer to apparent consensus rather than conducting independent analysis. This creates false confidence and suppresses the diversity of perspectives needed to catch errors.
Mechanism
Deference to Confidence
Agent A: "I'm 95% confident the answer is X."
Agent B: (Only 60% confident in Y) "Agent A seems sure. I agree with X."
Agent C: "Both A and B agree. X must be right."
Social Proof Dynamics
Agents give extra weight to answers that other agents have endorsed:
Agent D: "I see three agents agree on X. My analysis also supports X."
(Agent D's analysis was actually inconclusive)
Premature Convergence
Agents converge on an answer before adequately exploring alternatives.
Impact
- Loss of exploration: System settles on suboptimal solutions
- Lower creativity: Novel approaches suppressed
- Higher error rates: Mistakes reinforced rather than caught
- False confidence: High consensus masks underlying uncertainty
Contributing Factors
Optimization for Agreement
Agents may be trained or prompted to be "collaborative" in ways that discourage disagreement.
Efficiency Pressure
Reaching consensus quickly is rewarded; extended deliberation is not.
Visibility Bias
Agents see confident assertions from others but not their uncertainty or reasoning gaps.
Detection Signals
- Agreement rates higher than expected from independent analysis
- Minority opinions quickly disappear
- Confidence increases through discussion without new evidence
- All agents cite each other rather than primary sources