This paper focuses on the epistemic situation one faces when using a chatbot like ChatGPT: When reading the output of the chatbot, how should one decide whether or not to believe it? By surveying strategies we use with other, more familiar sources of information, I argue that chatbots present a novel challenge. This makes the question of how one could trust a chatbot especially vexing.
@ARTICLE{pdm.OnTruCha,
AUTHOR = {P.D. Magnus},
TITLE = {On trusting chatbots},
JOURNAL = {Episteme},
YEAR = {2025},
DOI = {10.1017/epi.2024.29}
}
The first on-line draft of this paper was posted 10 Nov 2023. The FirstView online version was published 21 Jan 2025.