About this episode
Doug discusses the pitfalls of relying on AI as a source of information and the importance of critical evaluation.
AI is a very slick search engine. You need to be careful with this one though. When you use google to search, it gives you a column of links, and the clear implication is that you need to evaluate the claims made on your own. “These are places that talk about your question, and now you are on your own.” But AI responds to you with an authoritative voice, telling you that this is the way it is. But it got that info by scrubbing the entire web, and there is a lot of bum dope out there. In addition, AI doesn’t just search for things, it just flat makes things up. More than one attorney has gotten busted for submitting a brief with non-existent court cases in it. AI is not a truth machine, but rather a consensus machine, so take care. For more from Doug, subscribe to Canon+: https://canonplus.com/
People in this episode
Host: Doug
Topics covered
- AI
- search engines
- truth
- consensus
Keywords
- AI risks
- information evaluation
- truth machine
- consensus machine
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Google, AI
More episodes of Blog & Mablog
- Struggling With God · June 4, 2026 · 8 min
- We Are Cooking on the Front Burner Now · June 2, 2026 · 13 min
- Creationism, the American Founding, and Individual Rights · May 28, 2026 · 10 min
- A Diamond-Studded Turd · May 26, 2026 · 13 min
- AI and the Cream Rising · May 20, 2026 · 8 min
- Less and Less Like a Judge at a Flower Show · May 18, 2026 · 6 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Blog & Mablog podcast page.