When Visibility Outpaces Verification: Delayed Verification and Narrative Lock-in in Agentic AI Discourse
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| author | Shi, Hanjing DiFranzo, Dominic |
| author_facet | Shi, Hanjing DiFranzo, Dominic |
| contents | Agentic AI systems-autonomous entities capable of independent planning and execution-reshape the landscape of human-AI trust. Long before direct system exposure, user expectations are mediated through high-stakes public discourse on social platforms. However, platform-mediated engagement signals (e.g., upvotes) may inadvertently function as a ``credibility proxy,'' potentially stifling critical evaluation.
This paper investigates the interplay between social proof and verification timing in online discussions of agentic AI. Analyzing a longitudinal dataset from two distinct Reddit communities with contrasting interaction cultures-r/OpenClaw and r/Moltbook-we operationalize verification cues via reproducible lexical rules and model the ``time-to-first-verification'' using a right-censored survival analysis framework.
Our findings reveal a systemic ``Popularity Paradox'': high-visibility discussions in both subreddits experience significantly delayed or entirely absent verification cues compared to low-visibility threads. This temporal lag creates a critical window for ``Narrative Lock-in,'' where early, unverified claims crystallize into collective cognitive biases before evidence-seeking behaviors emerge. We discuss the implications of this ``credibility-by-visibility'' effect for AI safety and propose ``epistemic friction'' as a design intervention to rebalance engagement-driven platforms. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_11412 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | When Visibility Outpaces Verification: Delayed Verification and Narrative Lock-in in Agentic AI Discourse Shi, Hanjing DiFranzo, Dominic Computers and Society Artificial Intelligence Human-Computer Interaction Agentic AI systems-autonomous entities capable of independent planning and execution-reshape the landscape of human-AI trust. Long before direct system exposure, user expectations are mediated through high-stakes public discourse on social platforms. However, platform-mediated engagement signals (e.g., upvotes) may inadvertently function as a ``credibility proxy,'' potentially stifling critical evaluation. This paper investigates the interplay between social proof and verification timing in online discussions of agentic AI. Analyzing a longitudinal dataset from two distinct Reddit communities with contrasting interaction cultures-r/OpenClaw and r/Moltbook-we operationalize verification cues via reproducible lexical rules and model the ``time-to-first-verification'' using a right-censored survival analysis framework. Our findings reveal a systemic ``Popularity Paradox'': high-visibility discussions in both subreddits experience significantly delayed or entirely absent verification cues compared to low-visibility threads. This temporal lag creates a critical window for ``Narrative Lock-in,'' where early, unverified claims crystallize into collective cognitive biases before evidence-seeking behaviors emerge. We discuss the implications of this ``credibility-by-visibility'' effect for AI safety and propose ``epistemic friction'' as a design intervention to rebalance engagement-driven platforms. |
| title | When Visibility Outpaces Verification: Delayed Verification and Narrative Lock-in in Agentic AI Discourse |
| topic | Computers and Society Artificial Intelligence Human-Computer Interaction |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.11412 |