Microsoft wants to use AI to fix AI—but will it work?

Microsoft has unveiled a new tool for AI app deployers that uses other AIs to evaluate and scan the first AI's responses. If the hallucination correction tool believes a reply might be invented, it's supposed to fix it with an answer that's backed up with a source. This secondary AI moderator, known as the Content Safety tool, is a part of Microsoft's Azure AI platform.

In a video explaining the correction tool, Microsoft refers to answers that have been pulled from a source as "grounded" and invented or hallucinated answers as "ungrounded."

"When the system detects ungrounded content or hallucinations, it highlights the inaccurate portions. Next, it explains why the section has been flagged as ungrounded. Then, it corrects the ungrounded content, aligning it with connected data sources," the video explains.

This process happens as a secondary step on the backend before any AI answer is delivered to the person who typed in the query. But this means AI apps using this moderation system might be slower in delivering answers to users—and even vetted answers may not be correct.

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The correction feature uses small language models and large language models to scan AI responses for hallucinations and find data online that can support an answer, a Microsoft rep told TechCrunch. This solution means multiple generative AI tools must work together on the backend, where one looks for unbacked claims while the other revises them with new text.

But an AI-powered solution to AI problems may not work, considering the fundamental flaw of hallucination lies at the core of all generative AI models. It could also frustrate users further if the AI app is checked with this secondary system intended to improve user trust but still produces errors that bypass or are caused by this verification system.

While Microsoft acknowledges that hallucinations erode user trust in generative AI, it presents Content Safety as a solution but paradoxically admits that the tool doesn't actually solve for accuracy. That's where the "groundedness" comes in because the AI can't check the source to confirm it's accurate (but will still cite it anyway). And these fact-checking AIs could hallucinate, too, TechCrunch notes.

"It is important to note that groundedness detection does not solve for ‘accuracy,’ but helps to align generative AI outputs with grounding documents," Microsoft said.