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  • A1
  • First steps
  • Check
  • 4 min

AI can be wrong

Situation

The situation

Spot what needs checking, and ask the AI where to check it.

You are a heating engineer in Amiens. A customer wants a quote to replace their boiler. You ask the AI for the average price of a new boiler: it gives a precise amount, with no source at all.

Idea 1 of 3

It predicts, it does not check

An AI model is the program that writes the answer. It predicts the most likely words, without checking that they are true. So it can make up a price with the same confidence as a real fact.

Idea 2 of 3

What you always check

Prices, figures, dates, names and rules. They are what commits your business to a customer. A well-written answer is not a checked answer.

Idea 3 of 3

Ask it what to check

Ask a follow-up question: “Which points in your answer should I check, and where?” The AI prepares the list. The checking then happens in a real source: a supplier, an official website, a document. The sources it cites can be made up too: open them.

Example

Before and after

Avoid

Perfect, I’ll put this price in my quote.

Better

Which parts of your answer should I check before I write my quote, and with which sources?

Why? The second question turns an uncertain answer into a checklist. The final price comes from your suppliers, not from the AI.

Question 1 of 3

The AI gives you a precise price, with no source. What is that figure worth?

The AI gives you a precise price, with no source. What is that figure worth?
See the answer

A lead to check with your suppliers A precise figure is not a checked figure. Only a real source confirms it.

Question 2 of 3

In an AI answer, what do you check first?

In an AI answer, what do you check first?
See the answer

Amounts and dates Amounts and dates commit your business. A clumsy greeting is easy to spot, a wrong figure much less so.

Question 3 of 3

You ask the AI whether it is sure. It says yes. Is that a check?

You ask the AI whether it is sure. It says yes. Is that a check?
See the answer

No, it can confirm a mistake with confidence. An AI can defend a mistake with confidence. A real check goes through an outside source.

Exercise

Your turn

Write the follow-up question you send to the AI to find out what to check in its answer, and where to check it.

First request

What is the average price of a new gas condensing boiler, including installation?

It was already sent to the AI. Write the next message in the conversation.

Ctrl + Enter to check your request.

Checklist

  • Ask what needs checking, to do
  • Ask where, or with whom, to check, to do

End of the lesson

Lesson complete

Key point

A confident answer is not a checked answer: check prices and dates at the source.

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