Always question AI
AI answers with the same confidence when it is right and when it makes things up. On the job site, trusting without checking is expensive.
This is the most important lesson of all. AI is a powerful tool, but it has a dangerous flaw: when it does not know, it does not say "I don't know". It makes up an answer and writes it with the same confidence as when it is right. In the AI world this has a name: hallucination.
AI gets things wrong with confidence. It does not warn you when it made something up. That is why checking is always your job.
It is not rare, and the risk is highest where it matters most
The best models have improved a lot on general questions, but on technical topics the error rate is still high. For legal questions, studies point to fabrication rates ranging from 6% to more than 50% depending on the tool. For document summaries, the newest reasoning models exceed 10% hallucination. And one alarming figure: almost half of corporate AI users have made at least one business decision based on information the AI made up.
Two reasons beyond fabrication
| Cutoff date | Every model was trained up to a certain date and does not know what came after. If you ask about a rule that changed recently, it may answer with the old version without telling you. |
| Bias | AI tends to repeat what was common before its training. That is not always the most correct or the most current answer. |
The golden rule for construction
Never use a number, contract clause or code requirement that came from AI without human review. For codes and standards, confirm with the local jurisdiction or with a specialized tool. For contracts and taxes, confirm with an attorney and an accountant. AI speeds up the draft; it does not take responsibility. You do.
How to question it in practice
- Ask for the source: "where did you get this? give me the link or the reference".
- Be suspicious of numbers that are too round or too specific. Ask "are you sure?" and see if it backs down.
- For current topics, use an AI with internet access and ask it to search for up-to-date information.
- Check every statement that depends on a date, an amount or a law against the official source.
Using AI well does not mean believing it. It means using it like a fast, helpful intern who produces a lot, but whose work you always review before you sign.
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Founder of FourRise Consulting. Business owner with direct experience in the US construction industry and creator of the F.O.U.R. Method.