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Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made significant strides in recent years, becoming increasingly adept at tasks that were once the exclusive domain of humans. However, one issue that has emerged as a significant challenge for AI is hallucination. AI hallucination is not a new phenomenon and developers have warned of AI models generating completely untrue facts, responding to queries with fabricated answers as though they were true.Hallucination is a significant challenge for the development and deployment of AI applications, as it can undermine the accuracy, reliability, and trustworthiness of the applications. Therefore, researchers and practitioners in the field of AI are actively exploring ways to address this challenge. This blog will delve into the implications and consequences of AI hallucinations and potential actions that users can take to mitigate the risks of believing or spreading false information.

The Concerns of AI-Generated False Information

AI hallucinations can manifest in many forms, ranging from generating entirely fake news articles to producing misleading statements or documents about historical events, scientific facts, and even people. For example, an AI system like ChatGPT can create a fake historical person, complete with a detailed biography and accomplishments, that never actually existed. The potential for such false information to spread quickly and widely is particularly concerning in today's age of social media and instant communication, where a single tweet or Facebook post can reach millions in seconds.Moreover, the issue of AI hallucination is not limited to text-based output but can also extend to other forms such as images, videos, and audio. For instance, image generators can produce fake images of people, places, or objects in answer to a query that look convincingly real but are not. As such, the issue of AI hallucination extends beyond just text-based output and has significant implications for other forms of media as well.

The Importance of Caution and Vigilance in Generative AI Usage

While generative AI can certainly be a useful tool in the drafting process, there must always be a human in the loop to validate the output and ensure its accuracy. Unfortunately, at present, there is no foolproof way to flag AI hallucinations other than to fact-check the output. In the future, we may be able to build in logic that prevents AI from generating false information. However, it's worth noting that generative AI isn't simply trying to match existing text to a query; it's generating new text based on everything it knows from its training data. As a result, even if the underlying data used to train the model is correct or even if a single document actually has exactly the right answer, the output generated by the AI may still be partially or fully incorrect. Therefore, it's crucial for people to exercise caution when using generative AI and remain vigilant about fact-checking its output.It's important to recognize that the issue of producing false information isn't unique to only generative AI. Humans are also susceptible to errors and intentional deceit in their responses and creations. To better understand the accuracy and reliability of generative AI, a fascinating line of research would be to compare the performance of AI and human beings in responding to ambiguous questions or clear questions with ambiguous answers. By doing such research, we could determine whether generative AI is more prone to hallucinating and getting things wrong than people. While it's difficult to draw a definitive conclusion at this time, it's likely that AI currently has a higher likelihood of generating false information than human beings. However, as AI technology continues to advance and more data is collected, the gap between AI and human performance will gradually close.

Acknowledging Context and Building Confidence

Ultimately, it is crucial to be aware of the risks associated with AI hallucination, particularly when relying on generative AI output for important decision-making. While AI can certainly be a useful tool, it should be treated as an initial draft that requires careful review and validation by humans. As AI technology advances, responsible and critical use is important, with awareness of its limitations and potential to hallucinate. Taking appropriate precautions can help harness its power while ensuring the information embodies integrity and accuracy.This post was developed with input from Bill Franks, internationally recognized thought leader, speaker, and author focused on data science & analytics.