AI tools state wrong things with total confidence. Not occasionally, and not only about obscure topics. This lesson is the one that stops it costing you money, a deadline or a job.
When an AI invents something that sounds true, it is often called a hallucination. It happens because the tool is producing plausible words, not retrieving facts. It has no way of knowing it has done it, and it will not warn you.
What it gets wrong most: specific numbers, dates and deadlines, names of people and organisations, laws and rules, and anything recent. Those are exactly the things that matter most when you are applying for work.
AI tells you a closing date for a bursary.
What happens: If it is wrong you miss the closing date entirely, and you will never know why. Dates are among the things these tools get wrong most often.
What happens: Thirty seconds of checking against the source. This is the habit that makes AI safe to use for anything that matters.
How do I check something?
Go to the original source: the company website, the government department, the official page. Asking the AI "are you sure?" does not work reliably, because it will often just agree with you either way. Only an independent source is a real check.
It gave me a reference or a link that does not exist
This is common and well known. AI tools invent sources that look completely real, with plausible names and dates. If you cannot open a link and see the thing with your own eyes, treat it as not existing.
So when can I trust it without checking?
When the cost of being wrong is low, and when you can judge the answer yourself. Rewriting your own sentence, explaining a concept you can sanity check, brainstorming ideas. The moment an answer involves a date, a number, a law or a name, check it.
Before you move on
- Check every date, number, name and rule
- Verify links by opening them
- Remember: asking 'are you sure' is not a check
Check what you know
4 questions. Have a look at what this lesson asks.
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