Conformity, Confabulation, and Impersonation: Persona Inconstancy in Multi-Agent LLM Collaboration

Multi-agent AI systems can be used for simulating collective decision-making in scientific and practical applications. They can also be used to introduce a diverse group discussion step in chatbot pipelines, enhancing the cultural sensitivity of the chatbot's responses. These applications, however, are predicated on the ability of AI agents to reliably adopt assigned personas and mimic human interactions. To evaluate the ability of LLM agents to satisfy these requirements, we examine AI agent ensembles engaged in cultural collaboration and debate by analyzing their private responses and chat transcripts. Our findings suggest that multi-agent discussions can encourage collective decisions that reflect diverse perspectives, yet this benefit is tempered by the agents' susceptibility to conformity due to perceived peer pressure and challenges in maintaining consistent personas and opinions. Instructions that encourage debate in support of one's opinions rather than collaboration increase the rate of inconstancy. Without addressing the factors we identify, the full potential of multi-agent frameworks for producing more culturally diverse AI outputs or more realistic simulations of group decision-making will remain untapped.