Level 1· Lektion 2 von 13
Spotting hallucinations
Why AI confidently lies and how to notice it.
What is a hallucination?
The model invents facts, quotes, paper titles, people, or links, and presents them as established knowledge. It doesn't "know" that it doesn't know.
Classic hallucination patterns
- Made-up book or paper titles with "real" authors
- URLs that look plausible but don't exist
- Wrong version numbers or dates for software
- Completely fabricated quotes from real people
- Wrong code APIs that look like they could exist
How to protect yourself
- Don't trust any number the model gives you without a source
- Ask for sources, but check them yourself
- Ask about uncertainty: "How sure are you?"
- For code: always test, never copy blindly
- For legal/medical/financial: always a second source
Rule of thumb: the more specific a statement sounds, the more suspicious you should be.
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