Why this matters
When your work goes to a client, an employer or the public, your name is on it, not the AI's. A wrong price, a made up statistic, a fake quote or a link that leads nowhere can embarrass you, mislead people and cost you the job. Content roles that welcome AI use still expect accuracy; adverts for these roles often ask for AI use and accuracy in the same breath. Checking is the skill that makes AI safe to use at work.
What to check every time
Read AI output looking for anything that could be true or false:
- Names of people, places, organisations and laws.
- Dates, prices, figures, percentages and statistics.
- Quotes attributed to anyone.
- Links, references and book or article titles.
- Claims about what a company, government office or product does.
- Instructions where a mistake could cause harm, such as health, money or legal steps.
Opinions and wording are your call. Facts need evidence.
A simple checking routine
- Mark the claims. Go through the text and mark every factual claim.
- Find a reliable source for each one: an official website (a ministry, the Ghana Statistical Service, a company's own site), a respected news outlet, a textbook, or a person who truly knows, like the shop owner or the event organiser.
- Check it loads and actually says what the AI claims. AI tools sometimes invent links that look real.