By Laura Nugent, Irish Language Officer, Wikimedia Community Ireland
CESI Con 2026 at Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh brought together educators and technologists to tackle a defining classroom challenge: navigating a world where Artificial Intelligence (AI) generates content that looks authentic, but isn’t. Building on our 2025 presentation, this year’s theme, Navigating Digital Futures, highlighted that students need more than just digital tools – they need the critical thinking required to separate fact from “hallucination.”
A Low-Tech Approach to High-Tech Challenges
Through a 30-minute simulation, attendees stepped into the shoes of Wikipedia editors to confront the pitfalls of generative AI.
Workshop activities
The workshop featured three hands-on activities based on real-world classroom scenarios:
Activity 1: The “Bad AI” Red Pen Audit
Participants audited an AI-generated report claiming the Holy Grail was buried in Co. Meath. Using red pens, they hunted for “slop” – flagging “peacock terms” like breathtaking, spotting “synthesis traps” (based on Wikipedia’s No Original Research policy) where AI combined unrelated facts, and identifying unreliable citations pulled from Reddit.
Activity 2: Human vs. Hallucination This focused on “premise verification.” Attendees practiced spotting how AI, when prompted with a false premise (e.g., St. Columba smuggling artifacts in 806 AD), will often “anthropomorphize” or hallucinate to please the user rather than correcting the error.
Activity 3: Engineering the “Golden Prompt” The “Red Pen” became a “Blue Pen” for drafting. Using Wikipedia’s Neutral Point of View (NPOV) and Verifiability standards, participants built prompts with strict constraints: prohibiting social media sources, mandating in-text citations, and creating an “AI Kill Switch” – a specific instruction for the AI to stop talking if a claim cannot be verified.
Key Takeaways for the Classroom
By the end of the session, participants were equipped to:
- Spot AI “Slop”: Identify why AI invents Irish history when given leading prompts.
- Apply Wiki Standards: Use Wikipedia’s sourcing hierarchy to vet digital claims.
- Engineer Constraints: Construct prompts that force AI to act as a neutral, fact-checked encyclopedia rather than a creative storyteller.
- Deliver Analog Lessons: Implement high-impact literacy lessons for the Junior Cycle classroom based assessments or Gaeilge curricula without needing a single laptop.
Looking Ahead
CESICon 2026 reminded us that the future of digital education doesn’t have to be purely digital. Sometimes, the simplest tools – a red pen, a checklist, and human judgment – are the best ways to cultivate discernment.
The lesson is clear: If we are going to use AI, we shouldn’t just use AI output without critique; we must interrogate it.
