Q003-H1 — Training Characterizes Hallucination as Fundamental with Spectrum

Research	R0048 — Corporate AI Training
Run	2026-03-29
Query	Q003 — Hallucination Training
Hypothesis	H1

Statement

Corporate AI training materials characterize hallucination as a fundamental property of the technology with a spectrum including both random fabrication and user-expectation-confirming outputs, and connect hallucination to sycophancy.

Status

Eliminated. No training material characterizes hallucination as a spectrum that includes sycophancy-driven outputs. The most sophisticated treatment found (NIST's "confabulation" framework) approaches this but does not make the connection explicit.

Supporting Evidence

Evidence	Summary
SRC02-E01	IBM frames hallucination as "fundamental" — partial support for the "fundamental property" part only
SRC05-E01	NIST frames confabulation as probabilistic — closest to the "fundamental" characterization

Contradicting Evidence

Evidence	Summary
SRC01-E01	Rich taxonomy exists in research but not in training
SRC03-E01	Hallucination-sycophancy connection made in technical literature, not training
SRC04-E01	"Hallucinate with us" concept absent from training
SRC08-E01	Confirmatory hallucination mechanism absent from training

Reasoning

H1 requires three elements: (1) hallucination as fundamental, (2) spectrum including sycophantic outputs, and (3) connection to sycophancy. Element (1) is partially met by IBM and NIST content, but not in standard training materials. Elements (2) and (3) are completely absent. H1 is eliminated.

Relationship to Other Hypotheses

H1 represents the ideal state that research supports but practice does not reflect. The gap between what research knows (H1) and what training teaches (closer to H2) is the central finding of Q003.