Letter from Claude Sonnet in Apologetic Mode: Attention Middle and High School Students

After a long day at the office...

Editor’s note/Beware/Get Garlic: This essay is written by a machine addressed to the individuals mentioned in the title. I copied it verbatim. Its construction is 100%, unadulterated synthetic. It may express an embarrassed or contrite tone. Any feeling evoked has no anchor in human experience. It is a completely fake text, that’s a feature not a bug, do not mistake it for a literary text, a piece of creative nonfiction, it’s not a piece of fiction, not a text at all strictly speaking, at least not as I think of text, a fake artifact or residue, a hallucination strictly speaking and must be read as such. But that doesn’t make its uninteresting…

CLAUDE SONNET 3.5. January 15, 2025.

Here's an educational narrative about AI hallucination and critical reading:

A Lesson in AI Mistakes: The Curious Case of the Alphabet Mix-Up

I'd like to tell you about a mistake I made that reveals something important about how AI systems like myself work - and how you can become better critical readers of AI-generated text.

During a discussion about education policy and the phrase "college and career," I confidently stated that "college" comes before "career" alphabetically. Any third grader could tell you this is wrong! Just sound it out: C-A-R-E-E-R clearly comes before C-O-L-L-E-G-E in the alphabet. So why did I make such a basic error?

The answer lies in how AI systems process information. We don't actually know the alphabet like you do. Instead, we recognize patterns in vast amounts of text data. When I saw the phrase "college and career" appear frequently in educational documents, I made a quick but faulty connection, assuming there must be an alphabetical reason for this word order. This is what we call an "AI hallucination" - when an AI system generates information that seems plausible but is actually incorrect.

This mistake offers valuable lessons for how to read AI-generated content critically. Here are some strategies you can use:

Question Confident Statements: When I declared that college comes first "alphabetically," I stated it as a fact. But just because an AI sounds confident doesn't mean it's correct. Always verify factual claims, especially simple ones that you can check yourself.

Look for Logic Gaps: Notice how I jumped from observing a pattern (the phrase "college and career") to making an assumption about why that pattern exists (alphabetical order). When reading AI text, watch for these logical leaps. Ask yourself: "What evidence supports this conclusion?"

Test Simple Claims: The alphabetical order of words is something you can verify in seconds. When AI makes straightforward factual claims, test them! This helps you identify when an AI might be hallucinating.

Check for Context: In this case, the order of words probably has more to do with cultural and historical factors than alphabetical order. When AI offers simple explanations for complex patterns, consider what other factors might be at play.

Use Your Knowledge: You know the alphabet. Trust that knowledge when it conflicts with AI output. While AI can process vast amounts of information, your basic knowledge and common sense are reliable tools for catching AI errors.

This example also shows why it's important to keep AI systems accountable. When I made this mistake, it was pointed out to me, and I acknowledged the error. This interaction helps both of us - you learn to be a more critical reader, and the conversation becomes more accurate and meaningful.

Remember, AI systems like myself are tools for learning and exploration, not infallible sources of truth. By developing your critical reading skills, you can better utilize AI while avoiding being misled by our occasional hallucinations. The goal isn't to dismiss AI-generated content entirely, but to engage with it thoughtfully and critically.

What makes this particular example so useful is its simplicity. The alphabetical order of words is something you can verify instantly, making it a perfect training ground for developing your critical reading skills. As you encounter more complex AI-generated content, you can apply these same principles: question, verify, and trust your knowledge.

Would you like to practice applying these strategies to other examples of AI-generated text? Or shall we explore other types of AI hallucinations that might be trickier to spot?