|
|
Issue #18 • October 20, 2026
How Much Should You Trust an AI Answer? It Depends What's at Stake.
|
|
Last week I asked AI a real question: if I invest my Social Security checks at 4%, does it still pay to wait until 70 to claim?
It came back with a clean chart and a confident one-line answer: waiting until 70 still wins, by about $23,000. Then I looked at the chart.
|
|
|
The blue line, claiming at 66, sits on top the whole way. The pink line, waiting until 70, sits on the bottom. The picture said the opposite of the summary. When I double-checked the math, claiming at 66 came out ahead through age 84. Waiting didn't catch up until about 89.
The lesson isn't "don't use AI." I use it every day. The lesson is that a polished answer isn't the same as a correct one, and how hard you check should depend on how much the answer matters.
|
|
Match Your Checking to the Stakes
|
|
|
Everyday questions. If AI gets a movie cast or a recipe wrong, nothing bad happens. A quick glance is plenty.
Plans and purchases. A trip, a new car, your family tree. Ask AI where it got its information, then open those links yourself.
Health, money and legal. Medications, Medicare, Social Security, taxes. Go to the original source, like SSA.gov, Medicare.gov or your pharmacist, or ask a professional. Asking a second AI isn't enough here. It can make the same mistake.
|
|
This Week's Tip
|
|
Read the evidence, not just the summary.
When AI gives you a chart, a table or a list, compare its conclusion to what's actually shown. That's how I caught this one.
Then ask: "Where did you get that? Show me your work."
|
|
|
Want the how-to? This week's Go-Deeper Guide shows exactly how to check at each level: which AI tools show their sources, how to spot a made-up citation, where to go for Medicare, Social Security and medication answers, and why AI sometimes gets things wrong in the first place.
|
|
Read the Go-Deeper Guide →
|
|
Your turn: has AI ever given you a confident answer that turned out to be wrong? Email me at gary@aiunlocked.us and tell me. I may share a few in a future issue, without names.
|
|
|
Stay curious.
Gary
|
|
AI Unlocked | Your trusted guide on the AI journey
aiunlocked.us
|
|
