AI perception drift vs hallucination
A hallucination produces a claim without sufficient support. Perception drift changes the overall portrait: category, hierarchy, scope, relations, time or recommendability. They may coexist, but corrections differ.
| Test | Hallucination | Perception drift |
|---|---|---|
| Invented fact | Common | Not required |
| Accurate sources possible | Yes, but insufficient | Yes |
| Hierarchy problem | Secondary | May be central |
| Baseline required | Useful | Essential to claim change |
| Correction | Claim and source | Architecture, framing, source, time or relations |
Examples
A fabricated price or certification is hallucination. Real services with a former activity made primary are drift without hallucination. Confusing two companies, assigning one product to the other and inferring positioning combines entity confusion, false claim and category drift.
Decision test
Split facts, verify entity ownership, examine order and omissions, compare with a baseline when change is alleged, and qualify sources and authority.
Absence of hallucination does not prove faithful representation. Difference from the brand’s preferred message does not automatically prove hallucination.