Lesson 1233 of 1570
Why AI Hallucinates: The Three Types You'll Actually See
Not all hallucinations are alike — citation lies, fact lies, and confident-tone lies each need a different defense.
Lesson map
What this lesson covers
Learning path
The main moves in order
- 1The big idea
- 2hallucination
- 3citation
- 4factuality
Concept cluster
Terms to connect while reading
Section 1
The big idea
AI doesn't 'lie' randomly — it lies in patterns you can predict. Knowing the three types saves you from getting fooled.
Some examples
- Citation hallucination: ChatGPT invents a JSTOR article that fits perfectly
- Fact hallucination: dates, names, statistics confidently wrong
- Confidence hallucination: AI sounds certain about something it guessed
- Recent-event hallucination: AI fills knowledge gaps with plausible fiction
Try it!
Ask ChatGPT for 3 statistics on any topic. Verify each one against a real source. Notice which type of hallucination it gives you.
Key terms in this lesson
End-of-lesson quiz
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