Nano-lesson · usually takes 2–3 minutes
It writes with the same self-assurance whether it's right or not. Here's how to check.
You ask how many days off you're entitled to after a bank holiday. The answer comes in two seconds, well phrased and precise — and wrong, because it doesn't know your collective agreement. Whether that can happen depends on which tool you're using: some look things up and cite sources; others answer only from what they learned in advance and can't check anything. They look the same — same field, same calm reply — but they aren't equally reliable. Knowing which kind you're using is the skill itself.
can this one look something up while I'm asking? Does it show me where the answer comes from? If the answer is no to both, all you're getting is a well-phrased memory.
There's no such thing as an unsure voice. It writes with the same calm whether or not it's on solid ground. Asking "are you sure?" isn't a check either — you'll get an equally calm answer back.
You don't have to verify everything. But anything that costs money, affects a person or leaves the building you should be able to find again somewhere else. If you can't, don't send it.
Stanford tested the legal AI tools sold with the promise of "100% hallucination-free" citations — the ones that look things up in real databases and link to the source. They got it wrong in 17–33% of answers. A tool that shows you a source hasn't checked it for you; it has only saved you from finding it.
Question 1 of 3
✓ Correct!
The link works, so nobody opens it — and then the source says something slightly different. A link isn't proof, it's a reference for you to follow.
Question 2 of 3
✓ Correct!
That's the most common mistake in a workplace: a correct general answer to a question that had a specific answer in your own paperwork.
Question 3 of 3
✓ Correct!
You can judge language yourself straight away. Numbers and deadlines affect someone — those you look up.
You've completed one of the foundation courses — the ones everyone gets for free.
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