When AI makes things up: understanding hallucinations

A text AI doesn't "know" things the way you do: it predicts the most likely next word. So it can produce a wrong answer with total confidence. That's called a hallucination, and it happens more often than you'd think.

Where it goes wrong most

Errors are common on precise facts, dates, quotes and sources. The AI can invent a book, an article or a figure that doesn't exist. The more niche the topic, the more careful you should be.

The right reflex

Never take an important piece of info at face value without checking it elsewhere. For schoolwork, always trace it back to a reliable source. AI is a great starting point and a bad finish line.