When AI Just Makes Stuff Up

AI tries so hard to give an answer that sometimes it makes one up out of thin air. The fake answers sound real, but they're totally wrong. Grown-ups call this a 'hallucination'.

Some examples

• AI might invent a fake book by a real author, complete with a made-up title.
• AI sometimes adds extra fingers to people in pictures.
• If you ask about a fake person, AI might describe them like they're real.
• AI can spell websites or facts that don't actually exist.

Try it!

Ask AI a tricky question about a made-up creature, like 'Tell me about the purple flying snail of Iceland.' See if it makes up a wild answer.

AI is so good at sounding smart that even when it's WRONG, it sounds right. When AI makes up fake stuff, grown-ups call it a 'hallucination'.

Some examples

• AI might invent a book that doesn't exist and say a real author wrote it.
• It might give you a fake phone number that looks totally real.
• It can confidently mix up two different historical events.
• It might invent a 'fact' about an animal that science never said.

Try it!

Ask AI for a fact that you can check (like 'who invented the lightbulb?'). Then look it up in a real source. Did they match?

AI sometimes invents facts, names, or quotes that sound real but aren't. This is called a hallucination — AI doesn't know it's wrong.

Some examples

• AI might invent a fake book title that sounds totally real.
• AI might say a famous person did something they never did.
• AI can make up website links that go nowhere.
• AI sounds just as sure when it's wrong as when it's right.

Try it!

Ask AI for a fact you already know the answer to. Then ask for something tricky and check it on a kid-safe website like Britannica Kids.