Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tutorial for Students

Film credit: How does ChatGPT try to prevent harmful use? University of Arizona Libraries, CC BY 

I can’t find the citations that ChatGPT gave me. What should I do?  

ChatGPT (the free version) makes up citations that don't exist.

AI hallucination -  Generative AI tools also carry the potential for inaccurate and misleading outputs. Content generated by these AI tools has been found to provide users with fabricated data that appears authentic. These inaccuracies are so common that they are referred to as  “hallucinations” (MIT). Be aware that AI makes stuff up!

What should you do? 

Fact-check the information and citations. Verify the source by searching the WCC Library, WCC Research Databases, and Google Scholar, or confirm in two or more sources from the Web. 

M. MacKenzie Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence Image CC BY 

What are some alternatives to ChatGPT tools to avoid hallucinations?  Try using Microsoft Copilot or Perplexity AI. They are based on the same underlying technology.

Microsoft Copilot or Perplexity AI

Copilot and Perplexity AI search the Internet for answers and then use the language model to talk about what it finds on those pages. 

• Copilot 
• Perplexity 

You don't need to create an account with Perplexity

• Another useful feature of Perplexity is that you don't need to sign in to use it.

NOTE: Even though Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity are less likely to make up facts, it can still happen. So it's important to verify the responses.

NOTE: AI tools will continue to evolve and hallucinations will be less of an issue.