Vent: My AI writing tool started making up garbage quotes last Tuesday

I was using this AI assistant to draft some blog posts for my company website. Last Tuesday it kept generating fake statistics and attributing them to real people who never said those things. I had to go back and manually fact check every single paragraph which took me about 3 hours. Has anyone else run into AI tools just fabricating sources like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

ellioth371mo ago

That's a fair frustration, but I actually see it a little differently. These AI tools are basically next-word guessers, not search engines or fact-checkers. They're designed to produce text that sounds plausible, not text that is actually true. The whole "convincing but wrong" thing is a known weakness you have to work around. You're better off using the AI to get a rough draft or overcome writer's block, then doing the fact-checking and sourcing yourself. I've found it works best if you treat it like a really fast but not very reliable assistant, not an expert. A little extra time upfront can save you that 3-hour cleanup later.

sean_cooper581mo ago

Honestly, reminds me of this time I asked my GPS to find a "quick route" to a new coffee shop and it took me down a dirt road that ended at a farmer's gate. Took me 20 minutes to turn around. The AI does the same thing with facts sometimes - sounds super confident, gets you halfway there, then leaves you stuck in a ditch. Ngl, I've started treating my AI chats like that GPS now. I use it for the general direction but I always double check the last mile myself.

wesleyb201mo ago

Yeah, the "convincing but wrong" part is exactly what got me at first. I started using it more for brainstorming or just getting a first pass at something, then I go back and fix the facts myself. It saves me time overall for sure, just gotta expect some of it to be half baked.