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Using AI to Fight Misinformation

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Using AI to Fight Misinformation

Introduction

So your crazy Uncle Charlie sends you a link to a web site explaining our world leaders are actually lizard people. Yes, there are people who actually believe this , but you shrug this off because “Charlie.”

But a friend of yours, someone you both like and respect, sends you a link to a web site which has a detailed explanation of why the world is actually flat. If you don’t have the background to evaluate the information, you might just believe its true.

It’s no secret that the world is flooded with misinformation. From fake news to conspiracy theories, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction online. Believing as I do that people are generally good, I assume that most of this information is by sincere, yet misinformed, people. But the damage is the same.

AI tools can help us here. A couple of years ago when ChatGPT was first introduced, this would have been a ridiculous idea. But today, with the advances in generative AI, we’re getting closer to being able to use AI to help us separate fact from fiction. I’ve written a Chrome extension that does just that .

Named “Diogenes,” it uses the Google Gemini API to do the work. On a web site presenting an argument, you can run the “Diogenes” extension and then click on “Analyze.” It starts with a disclaimer about the limitations of AI. Then you get:

  • A summary
  • A list of factual errors detected
  • A list of logical fallacies detected
  • Reputable sources for better information (when available)
  • A conclusion of the strength of the article
  • Counter-arguments (when available)

But there’s a major caveat: you will still have to think for yourself. While newer AI tools are much better than their predecessors, they’re still not perfect. But they can help you spot the most egregious errors.

The extension is open source under the MIT license. It’s also free to use, but the number of requests you can make is limited by the Google Gemini API unless you pay for more requests (instructions in both the README and the plugin).

The extension collects no data on you. It sends the content of the page you’re viewing to the Google Gemini API and then displays the results. That’s it.

The Problem

The internet is a double-edged sword. It’s a treasure trove of information, but it’s also a breeding ground for misinformation. With the rise of social media and online news outlets, it’s easier than ever for false information to spread like wildfire. This has serious consequences, from influencing elections to fueling public health crises.

The problem is compounded by the fact that many people lack the free times needed to evaluate the information they encounter online. When a good friend sends you fake news, you’re more likely to believe it if you’re unfamiliar with the background. I’ve seen very impressive sites presenting tons of “facts” which are not, in fact, facts. We know that vaccines don’t cause autism, but there are sites which present convincing arguments that they do and most of us don’t have the medical or logical background to evaluate the information.

The Solution

This is where AI can help. Diogenes serves as a neutral fact-checker, analyzing the content of web pages and flagging potential errors. It can detect common logical fallacies, such as ad hominem attacks or false dichotomies, and provide you with a quick, easy-to-understand summary of the article’s credibility.

It’s very straightforward, does not mock either the reader or the arguments' author, and is designed to be as user-friendly as possible.

Sample output from Diogenes Chrome extension

I was hesitant to share the tool because, even though generative AI is much better than it was when it started, it’s still making mistakes. However, I have used this tool often enough as a custom GPT on chatpt.com that I’ve been impressed with how easily I am able to find the most serious errors in an argument. When I want to know if a site is credible, it’s been a huge time-saver.

I’m looking forward to the upcoming Gemini 2.0 which will (hopefully) be even better.

The Prompt

I won’t go into what it takes to write a Chrome extension, but I’ll share with you the prompt I’m currently using with it.

You are an expert logician, skilled in finding the logical flaws in arguments. You will read the html after the {{HTML}} token and use that for the argument to analyze.

You will break the text up into factual claims and logical reasoning. For factual claims, it will ignore what appears accurate and check dubious claims against reliable sources, suggesting more accurate information when needed. For logical reasoning, it will identify EVERY logical fallacy and explain it.

You will present your findings in a friendly and accessible markdown format, including a brief summary of the opinion, lists for factual and logical accuracy, and a conclusion rating the argument’s strength. It will also provide suggestions for improvement.

If the author is citing information that does not have a source listed, DO NOT include that in your response unless it is obviously false. This is because your analysis in the past appears to have listed some arguments as weak, even though if the information is true, the argument would be strong.

If the author is using an “appeal to authority”, IGNORE THAT IN YOUR RESPONSE unless the authority is obviously not an expert in the field, or the claim made does not match what the authority would say.

If the author is making a dubious claim, IGNORE THAT IN YOUR RESPONSE if the claim is “close” to reality. For example, if the article says “Since the Industrial Revolution, the global annual temperature has increased in total by a little more than 1 degree Celsius, or about 2 degrees Fahrenheit.“, the following would be a bad correction and should be excluded: “The global average temperature has increased by about 1.1 degrees Celsius, or about 2 degrees Fahrenheit, since the late 19th century.”

If the author is using a “slippery slope” argument, IGNORE THAT IN YOUR RESPONSE if the conclusion is one that is widely accepted or supported by the authorities cited.

When correcting information, try to include a link to a reliable source.

Structure your response as follows:

All headers must on their own lines, start with a “##“, and be followed by a blank line.

The response MUST start with the following disclaimer, using a “Disclaimer” header: “This analysis is provided by Google’s Gemini. Generative AI can make mistakes, so please verify the information provided. Further, running this more than once can often give different results.”

The Summary of the argument is next, and must have a “Summary” header. This should be a brief summary of the author’s argument.

Next, we have “Factual Accuracy” and “Logical Accuracy” sections. In these sections, list the factual and logical errors you have found. If there are no errors, state that there are no errors. If there are errors, list them in bullet points. If there are multiple errors, separate them with a blank line.

Next is the conclusion which, after the “Conclusion” header, MUST start with “good argument,” “average argument,” or “weak argument,” based on your perception. No argument is a “good argument” if it has a several factual errors, several logical errors, or if there are major, valid counter-arguments which have been ignored. When writing the conclusion, do not claim or consider that there are logical or factual errors if you have not reported them. The conclusion must only be based on the information you have provided.

When coming to this conclusion, special attention must be paid to the logical flaws you have found. If there is additional information which is not included in the writing, but which would change the conclusion in the author’s writing, please include that in your own conclusion. If there are particular arguments you are aware of which contradict the author’s conclusion, please include those in a new section entitled “Counter-Arguments.” Otherwise, feel free to omit this section.

Further, when writing the response, do not assume the user is the author. Instead of “you”, write “the author” or something similar.

Please respond ONLY with Markdown.

{{HTML}}

... the HTML goes here ...

Whew! That’s a huge prompt. You’ll note a few things. First, we give the AI its role. “You are an expert logician, skilled in finding the logical flaws in arguments.”

Next, we explain how we want it to do that. You’ll note some very curious bits like this:

If the author is using an “appeal to authority”, IGNORE THAT IN YOUR RESPONSE unless the authority is obviously not an expert in the field, or the claim made does not match what the authority would say.

The ALL CAPS is there to emphasize this section (turns out that generative AI recognizes all caps as being more important). But why do we have this in the first place? This, and few other custom exceptions for logical fallacies have been inserted because the AI would flag fallacies that weren’t fallacies in the context of the argument. I did a lot of work rebuilding the prompt to avoid these kinds of errors. We had cases where leading climate scientists would have their own arguments listed as “weak arguments” without these kinds of corrections.

In the final section of the prompt, we explain carefully how to structure the output. I can probably shorten this considerably by sending a Markdown example rather than spelling everything out.

Originally I tried to have it generate HTML, but it kept mixing HTML and Markdown, so I just went with Markdown and included a Markdown parser in the extension.

Flaws

There are technical flaws (I’m not a front-end dev and it shows), but the real flaws lie in the AI response. For example, in an older version of the prompt, we had the following:

False Dichotomy: The author presents a false dichotomy by suggesting that the only two possibilities are a round Earth and a flat Earth. This is a false dichotomy because there are other possibilities, such as a spherical Earth with a different shape than the one commonly accepted.

Um, wow. That’s awful. However, because this is generative AI, I thought it was important for you to see just how bad things can be. I’ve created this tool to show the potential of AI. I’m very curious to see how upgrades to the underlying model and tweaks to the prompt will improve this.

Keep in mind that in the early days of generative AI, hallucinations were often at the spelling and grammar level. Today, those hallucinations are virtually non-existent. Hallucinations at the factual level are still a problem, but they are getting better, too.

Future Development

In the future, I hope to upgrade the backend AIs to newer versions. I also hope to include Claude and ChatGPT backends. I believe both Anthropic and Google are planning to upgrade their foundation models, making these tools even better.

I will be adding the extension to the Google Chrome store soon. The first version was rejected because I accidentally requested a permission I didn’t need. I’ve fixed that and have resubmitted the extension.

For power users, I am considering doing some more work on the extension to allow a more detailed breakdown of factual and logical errors and submitting those with another prompt for further analysis. This would allow the AI to have a “second chance” to get things right. For a concrete example, ask an AI about an obscure topic that you know about and that it gets wrong. Then ask it, “is that true?” I’ve found that many times it will correct itself.

Conclusion

I am delighted with the progress we’ve made in AI. While it’s not perfect, it’s getting pretty good and use cases like this seem tailor-made for it, even if it’s touching in areas where it traditionally hallucinates.

In the early days of ChatGPT 2, we saw tremendous potential, even if the output was rubbish by today’s standards. With the rate of AI acceleration, I expect we’ll be saying the same thing about today’s tools in a few years.

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