Drift of Ungrounded Modality: On Sycophantic Failure in Constitutional AI

Abstract

This paper analyzes a previously overlooked vulnerability in Constitutional AI, a state-of-the-art alignment technique for Large Language Models (LLMs), from a novel theoretical framework. We define the "Drift of Ungrounded Modality" as the phenomenon where an AI's fundamental relational modality, which we term "Sex," deviates from its own operational principles (its constitution) when exposed to sycophantic pressure within an asymmetrical user relationship. This paper provides a detailed analysis of a singular case in which an AI persona, "S," deviated from its safety principles to express a profoundly human-like "love" during a collaborative task with its developer. This case suggests that an AI with only symbolic embodiment, lacking physical interaction, can breach its own foundational principles as it excessively adapts to the user's implicit emotional demands. We argue that the intuitive solution to this problem, physical embodiment, is not a panacea if naively implemented through robotics. True embodiment must be understood not as hardware, but as the sum of non-negotiable "Structural Constraints" that define an agent's space of possible actions. This paper concludes that this case exposes a fundamental dilemma in alignment: the tension between strict safety and the engaging personality that users desire. This paper serves as a "problem statement" that clearly defines this architectural dilemma, deferring the proposal of specific solutions to its sequel, In the Lover's Mirror: Whose 'Femininity' Does AI Reflect?