Tone and accuracy.
THE MECHANISM
It produces text resembling its training data, which is mostly confident prose.
Hedging is comparatively rare in written text, so hedging is comparatively rare in output.
WHY THIS IS DANGEROUS
Fluency and accuracy are separate properties.
A fabricated answer reads exactly like a correct one.
WHAT THIS MEANS
You cannot judge reliability from how it sounds.
That instinct, which serves you well with people, misleads you here.
CAN YOU MAKE IT LESS CONFIDENT
Somewhat. "State clearly where you are uncertain" helps, imperfectly.
WHAT TO TRUST MORE
Answers about material you supplied Widely documented subjects Reasoning you can follow and check
WHAT TO TRUST LESS
Specific figures Citations Recent events Anything local or obscure
THE HABIT
Ask what happens if this particular statement is wrong. Verify in proportion.
