A field guide to AI positions

Hallucinations / confabulation

Using AI.

Source is over 18 months old.

Publication dates and source age

Sources counted: 1

Newest dated source: 2024-07

Assessed at this edition's evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.

Publication age does not tell us whether a claim is still valid. Reading an old source again does not make its publication date newer. An update date does not establish that the passage we used was updated.

Open in the glossary Reading notes · Structured record

Prepared with AI assistance. Not independently fact-checked. Original sources and qualifications are below.

In plain language

AI output that presents false or unsupported details as if they were reliable. [1]

Reference this explanation or suggest a correction

Explanation based on the linked sources. Claim ID: claim-term-hallucination-1a5192ba3d7825ca26b24a72. Edition 0.20.0.

Link to this explanation · Suggest a correction · How corrections work

Limits & distinctions

An invented detail in a requested story can be intentional. The problem here is presenting unreliable material as a factual answer. [1]

Reference this explanation or suggest a correction

Explanation based on the linked sources. Claim ID: claim-term-hallucination-09422ce4d5c74cb753a9bb98. Edition 0.20.0.

Link to this explanation · Suggest a correction · How corrections work

A fuller explanation

A model may invent a citation, misstate a fact or contradict material it was given. NIST calls this confabulation. Fluent wording can make these errors hard to notice. [1]

Reference this explanation or suggest a correction

Explanation based on the linked sources. Claim ID: claim-term-hallucination-1e4c26398ee834b2e16dc7b8. Edition 0.20.0.

Link to this explanation · Suggest a correction · How corrections work

How it relates to the map

Check important claims against the original material, including any cited pages. [1]

Reference this explanation or suggest a correction

Editorial interpretation or qualification. Claim ID: claim-term-hallucination-25f52a21ad9f2e54a62ed1b2. Edition 0.20.0.

Link to this explanation · Suggest a correction · How corrections work

Share this page

https://theaiatlas.org/ideas/hallucination/

Download a share image · Vector image

Image previews are summaries. Keep the page link so readers can check the evidence.

Sources and what we read

  1. 1. Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework: Generative Artificial Intelligence Profile

    National Institute of Standards and Technology · First-hand source · Published 2024-07 · Material last read 2026-09-15

    Source is over 18 months old.

    Publication dates and source age

    Sources counted: 1

    Newest dated source: 2024-07

    Assessed at this edition's evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.

    Publication age does not tell us whether a claim is still valid. Reading an old source again does not make its publication date newer. An update date does not establish that the passage we used was updated.

    Read scope is described in the source note.

    No archive check recorded.

    Read introduction, section 2.2 on confabulation, and selected MEASURE actions 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7 and 2.9 concerning evaluation evidence, generalization, citations, generated-code review and safeguards. A voluntary risk-management profile; no claim that all 64 pages or every referenced study was reviewed.

    Source ID: nist-genai-profile

Edition and machine-readable evidence

Content version 0.20.0. Evidence cutoff 2026-09-15; this does not mean every source was read on that day.

Pinned complete dataset · Complete evidence page · Agent consumption guide