LESSON
How to SIFT with AI
How do I check whether information is true when AI can make anything look credible?
AI can produce an article, complete with real-looking sources and citations, that seems completely credible in seconds. That makes a familiar research skill matter more than ever: knowing how to check whether something is actually true, not just whether it sounds true. In this lesson, students use Mike Caulfield's SIFT method to investigate an AI-written article, and learn to treat AI as a tool that can help them verify a claim, just not one they can take at its word.
Objectives
- Trace a claim back to its original source to verify accuracy
- Use AI to investigate a claim, finding sources and counterevidence, while confirming its output against the original source, rather than trusting its results
- Actively seek evidence against a claim they want to be true, instead of only looking for support
Vocabulary
SIFT
SIFT – a method for checking whether information is trustworthy by taking four steps: Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, and Trace claims to the original source.
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