You Can't Trust Everything Generative AI Tells You. Here's What to Do About It

Marietta is a little city of about 13,000 people on the Ohio River, with fun boutique shops and interesting museums of local history and beautiful views of the surrounding Appalachian foothills. It's been a year or so since I visited, so I'm probably due to go again. I asked ChatGPT for a restaurant recommendation -- the city's best Thai place. The chatbot obliged: Thai Taste. The problem? That restaurant is in Marietta, Georgia. The city in Ohio doesn't have a Thai restaurant. The "what's the best Thai restaurant in this small town" question was an offhand example in a conversation I had with Katy Pearce, associate professor at the University of Washington and a faculty member of the UW Center for an Informed Public. As far as examples go, it's pretty minor. There are other fine restaurants in Marietta, Ohio, and a Thai restaurant down the road in Parkersburg, West Virginia. But the problem it demonstrates could be serious: When you're using an AI chatbot as a search engine, you migh ... Read full article.