Delegating work to generative AI carries a hidden risk of fabricated facts and declining critical thinking
The cases involving the South African government and Deloitte showed that AI can invent citations and authors. A survey of 48 000 people found that 66 % of them use AI regularly, but 61 % have no training and the main motivation is fear of falling behind, not quality.
Anyone who uses AI outputs without verifying the underlying source material will not recognize the risk of fabricated facts or citations until it causes a problem – and without training (which 61 % of users lack, according to the cited survey), these blind spots are harder to recognize.