Comparison
Alignment vs Hallucination
Alignment and Hallucination are both common AI/LLM terms but cover different ideas. Here is a quick side-by-side.
When you would reach for Alignment
Alignment comes up when the question is fundamentally about safety & alignment.
Tuning a model to refuse to help with bioweapon synthesis.
When you would reach for Hallucination
Hallucination comes up when the question is fundamentally about evaluation.
Citing a paper that does not exist.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between Alignment and Hallucination?
Alignment: Alignment is the problem of making an AI system pursue what humans actually want rather than the literal letter of its training objective. RLHF and Constitutional AI are alignment techniques. Hallucination: A hallucination is a confidently-stated, plausible-sounding LLM output that is factually wrong. It is the failure mode that most often surprises non-expert users.
When should I use Alignment vs Hallucination?
Alignment is the right concept when you are focused on safety & alignment. Hallucination applies when you are focused on evaluation.
Are Alignment and Hallucination the same thing?
No. Alignment is safety & alignment; Hallucination is evaluation. They are related but address different parts of the AI stack.