Lesson 266 of 1455
Asking AI for Sources (and Verifying Them)
When AI mentions a study, book, or article, your job is to verify the source actually exists — not just trust AI's summary of it.
Builders · Research & Analysis · ~9 min read
AI invents real-sounding sources
AI sometimes fabricates citations. The book doesn't exist, the author is invented, and the journal name is plausible but wrong. This has caused real problems — including lawyers being sanctioned for citing AI-invented court cases.
The defense is simple but non-negotiable: when AI mentions a source, click through and verify before citing it.
What AI hallucinated citations look like
- Plausible journal names that don't actually exist
- Real authors paired with papers they didn't write
- DOIs that don't resolve to anything
- Dates and page numbers that look right but don't match the journal's archive
A typical verification flow
- 1AI mentions a source — copy the full citation
- 2Search the title in Google Scholar
- 3If found — read the abstract to confirm it's the right paper
- 4If not found — try the author's name on a university website
- 5Still not found? Don't cite it
Key terms in this lesson
The big idea: AI gives you leads. You verify the leads. Cite only what you've actually read.
End-of-lesson quiz
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