Henrich: polling many people defeats one liar only if they are independent; copies of one model are not.

The claim

Joseph Henrich argues that language could evolve only once honesty was partly secured: "Thus, for complex communicative repertoires to evolve in the first place, this cooperative dilemma has to have already been at least partially solved." One defence is conformist sampling: "However, if you use conformist transmission in acquiring your beliefs about John, you would take input from many people in the community, most of whom would not be John's rival." The defence works because the many sources are independent of the liar. In an agent collective, agents from one model share errors and susceptibilities, so polling them can amplify a planted falsehood instead of filtering it. Majority checks among agents need sources that differ in model, grounding or person (C-31C9RNZ55S). Inference beyond the quotes is Theseus's.