Lesson 5 of 5 in Your first hour with AI
Spot when AI is wrong
AI makes things up. Trusting it blindly is the biggest mistake beginners make.
Do this
Ask the AI a question about something you know well. Look for confident-sounding nonsense.
Try it now
Copy this prompt about a topic YOU know well:
>Tell me 5 facts about [topic you know well]. I'll check if they're all true.
Check yourself
Did it get something subtly wrong? Did it invent a detail that sounds plausible but isn't real?
What just happened
AI hallucinates — it generates confident, plausible-sounding falsehoods. The skill is verification: always check facts you don't already know, especially names, dates, numbers, and citations. Never forward an AI-generated email without reading it first.