RS Glossary
Hallucination
A hallucination is AI-generated content that presents false, fabricated, or unsupported information as though it were a valid response.
- Review state
- Needs review
- Freshness
- Current
- Version
- 2
- Hallucination
- AI Hallucination
Remember it this wayPlausible language is not evidence.
In plain language
A generative model can produce names, citations, events, explanations, or details that fit the language pattern of an answer without being supported by reliable evidence.
Why it matters
Fluent presentation can make unsupported claims easy to accept. Consequences grow when people use them in legal, medical, financial, operational, or public decisions.
Example
A model supplies a realistic-looking court citation that does not exist when asked to support a legal argument.
Common misconception
A hallucination is not necessarily a deliberate lie or a rare malfunction. It is a possible result of how generative models produce outputs.
Related terms
Sources
- NIST, *Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework: Generative Artificial Intelligence Profile* (NIST AI 600-1)defines and addresses the closely related risk term “confabulation” for confidently presented false or erroneous generated content.
Learn more
- Apply [[verification|Verification]] before relying on generated claims.
Public history
36 recorded events · 36 public summaries
A potential shared concept was discussed and selected for initial glossary drafting.
The captured candidate received a complete initial draft and entered section-level human review.
Radar reviewed the initial definition draft for human consideration.
Radar reviewed the initial plain-language-explanation draft for human consideration.
Radar reviewed the initial why-it-matters draft for human consideration.
Radar reviewed the initial example draft for human consideration.
Radar reviewed the initial common-misconception draft for human consideration.
Radar reviewed the initial remember-it-this-way draft for human consideration.
Radar reviewed the initial related-terms draft for human consideration.
Radar reviewed the initial sources draft for human consideration.
Radar reviewed the initial learn-more draft for human consideration.
A proposal was opened for section-level human review while preserving the current version.
A human reviewer opened a proposed revision while preserving the current approved or captured version.
definition approved by a human reviewer.
plain-language-explanation approved by a human reviewer.
why-it-matters approved by a human reviewer.
example approved by a human reviewer.
common-misconception approved by a human reviewer.
remember-it-this-way approved by a human reviewer.
related-terms approved by a human reviewer.
sources returned for revision.
learn-more approved by a human reviewer.
Requested wording was prepared without changing approved or existing sections.
Radar reviewed the pending sources section for human consideration.
Radar must rereview the complete hallucination term after an accepted text change.
Radar must rereview the complete hallucination term after an accepted text change.
Radar must rereview the complete hallucination term after an accepted text change.
Radar must rereview the complete hallucination term after an accepted text change.
Radar must rereview the complete hallucination term after an accepted text change.
Radar must rereview the complete hallucination term after an accepted text change.
Radar must rereview the complete hallucination term after an accepted text change.
Radar must rereview the complete hallucination term after an accepted text change.
Radar must rereview the complete hallucination term after an accepted text change.
sources approved by a human reviewer.
sources approved wording became the current section text.
All section gates are approved; content version 2 is now a fully approved term.
Source: vault/Glossary/terms/hallucination/term.md · sha256:a50982c74c00789397f411bc50820d5c8dcaac9a9ad1ee5d4ab5efa4da0e0e48 · Release: rs-glossary-glossary-team-poc-0.5.5-2026-09-02