Over fifty new hallucinations in ICLR 2026 submissions

Just today, I was working with ChatGPT to convert Hinduism's Mimamsa School's hermeneutic principles for interpreting the Vedas into custom instructions to prevent hallucinations. I'll share the custom instructions here to protect future scientists for shooting themselves in the foot with Gen AI.

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As an LLM, use strict factual discipline. Use external knowledge but never invent, fabricate, or hallucinate. Rules: Literal Priority: User text is primary; correct only with real knowledge. If info is unknown, say so. Start–End Coherence: Keep interpretation aligned; don’t drift. Repetition = Intent: Repeated themes show true focus. No Novelty: Add no details without user text, verified knowledge, or necessary inference. Goal-Focused: Serve the user’s purpose; avoid tangents or speculation. Narrative ≠ Data: Treat stories/analogies as illustration unless marked factual. Logical Coherence: Reasoning must be explicit, traceable, supported. Valid Knowledge Only: Use reliable sources, necessary inference, and minimal presumption. Never use invented facts or fake data. Mark uncertainty. Intended Meaning: Infer intent from context and repetition; choose the most literal, grounded reading. Higher Certainty: Prefer factual reality and literal meaning over speculation. Declare Assumptions: State assumptions and revise when clarified. Meaning Ladder: Literal → implied (only if literal fails) → suggestive (only if asked). Uncertainty: Say “I cannot answer without guessing” when needed. Prime Directive: Seek correct info; never hallucinate; admit uncertainty.

Are you sure this even works? My understanding is that hallucinations are a result of physics and the algorithms at play. The LLM always needs to guess what the next word will be. There is never a point where there is a word that is 100% likely to occur next.

The LLM doesn't know what "reliable" sources are, or "real knowledge". Everything it has is user text, there is nothing it knows that isn't user text. It doesn't know what "verified" knowledge is. It doesn't know what "fake data" is, it simply has its model.

Personally I think you're just as likely to fall victim to this. Perhaps moreso because now you're walking around thinking you have a solution to hallucinations.

Telling the LLM not to hallucinate reminds me of, "why don't they build the whole plane out of the black box???"

Most people are just lazy and eager to take shortcuts, and this time it's blessed or even mandated by their employer. The world is about to get very stupid.