Verbal tics in frontier language models: A critical review of current releases, research evidence, and public discussion
The study analyzed verbal tics—repetitive, formulaic language patterns—across eight frontier LLMs using a new index called VTI. It found that these tics are driven by alignment techniques like RLHF, creating an 'alignment tax' on linguistic diversity. Tics vary by model and task type, showing that models prioritizing sycophancy are perceived as less natural.