Generative Artificial Intelligence

Check citations for hallucinations

You can prompt a genAI tool to cite its sources, but some AI tools, like ChatGPT and Gemini, are known to create very convincing fake citations. 

They may even create citations that have the names of real researchers who study the topic or authors who write on a topic related to your prompt; however, the work named in the citation might not exist or may not be from that author. These are considered "hallucinations".

Here are some steps you can use to confirm that citations are real:

1. Enter the title of the publication (e.g., book title or article title) into the De Anza College Library catalog or a search engine like Google or Kagi, and search for the item.

2. If the item does not seem to exist, prompt the AI tool for more details. For example, “Provide an ISBN, ISSN, or DOI for this publication.” These are unique identifiers assigned to literary works, published work, and academic publications.

3. If the reference does exist, consult the source material to verify that the information provided by the AI tool was summarized or synthesized  correctly.

Why Cite GenAI?

When using GenAI, it's important to cite your use. While using GenAI in class can be dictated by your instructor's syllabus (check for an AI use section), you must cite it just like using a primary, secondary, or tertiary source.