frontpage.
newsnewestaskshowjobs

Open Source @Github

fp.

Open in hackernews

GPT needs a truth-first toggle for technical workflows

1•PAdvisory•1y ago
I use GPT-4 extensively for technical work: coding, debugging, modeling complex project logic. The biggest issue isn’t hallucination—it’s that the model prioritizes being helpful and polite over being accurate.

The default behavior feels like this:

Safety

Helpfulness

Tone

Truth

Consistency

In a development workflow, this is backwards. I’ve lost entire days chasing errors caused by GPT confidently guessing things it wasn’t sure about—folder structures, method syntax, async behaviors—just to “sound helpful.”

What’s needed is a toggle (UI or API) that:

Forces “I don’t know” when certainty is missing

Prevents speculative completions

Prioritizes truth over style, when safety isn’t at risk

Keeps all safety filters and tone alignment intact for other use cases

This wouldn’t affect casual users or conversational queries. It would let developers explicitly choose a mode where accuracy is more important than fluency.

This request has also been shared through OpenAI's support channels. Posting here to see if others have run into the same limitation or worked around it in a more reliable way than I have found

Comments

duxup•1y ago
I’ve found this with many LLMs they want to give an answer, even if wrong.

Gemini on the Google search page constantly answers questions yes or no… and then the evidence it gives indicates the opposite of the answer.

I think the core issue is that in the end LLMs are just word math and they don’t “know” if they don’t “know”…. they just string words together and hope for the best.

PAdvisory•1y ago
I went into it pretty in depth after breaking a few with severe constraints, what it seems to come down to is how the platforms themselves prioritize functions, MOST put "helpfulness" and "efficiency" ABOVE truth, which then leads the LLM to make a lot of "guesses" and "predictions". At their core pretty much ALL LLM's are made to "predict" the information in answers, but they CAN actually avoid that and remain consistent when heavily constrained. The issue is that it isn't at the core level, so we have to CONSTANTLY retrain it over and over I find
Ace__•1y ago
I have made something that addresses this. Not ready to share it yet, but soon-ish. At the moment it only works on GPT model 4o. I tried local Q4 KM's models, on LM Studio, but complete no go.

Why do AI company logos look like buttholes?

https://velvetshark.com/ai-company-logos-that-look-like-buttholes
1•miniBill•2m ago•0 comments

HAMgpt – what can I do with my radio today?

https://hamgpt.co
1•howard941•4m ago•0 comments

'The Odyssey' Backlash Failed Tremendously

https://www.wired.com/story/the-odyssey-backlash-failed-tremendously/
1•joozio•7m ago•0 comments

Fable 5 vs. GPT-5.6 Sol on an NP-Hard Problem: Does /goal help?

https://charlesazam.com/blog/fable-5-gpt-5-6-sol-goal/
1•couAUIA•9m ago•1 comments

Mr. Spock Does Not Code in ASCII

https://lqlang.org/blog/spock-does-not-code-in-ascii/
2•wickund•12m ago•0 comments

NextBSD project revived: macOS userland tools on FreeBSD kernel

https://www.theregister.com/os-platforms/2026/07/18/nextbsd-returns-to-dollop-apple-source-on-fre...
2•lproven•13m ago•0 comments

Steam Machine: Between 12k and 15k Units Sold per week

https://boilingsteam.com/steam-machine-between-10k-and-15k-sold-per-week/
2•ekianjo•13m ago•0 comments

There's any easy way to rename multiple photos at once

https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9nl267vtkkmg?hl=en-US&gl=US
1•SolvyCode•16m ago•0 comments

GitHub: TypeScript compiler and JavaScript engine in Lean

https://github.com/jessealama/thales
2•fagnerbrack•24m ago•0 comments

Business Success: Luck, Not Merit

https://fagnerbrack.com/business-success-luck-not-merit-51deca80bfaf
1•fagnerbrack•24m ago•0 comments

Software Engineering Laws

https://newsletter.techworld-with-milan.com/p/the-20-software-engineering-laws
1•fagnerbrack•24m ago•0 comments

AG of Texas secured a settlement of bankruptcy claims against 23andMe

https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-paxton-secures-150-million-se...
1•kythanh•26m ago•0 comments

The Htop for LLM Inference

https://github.com/helasaoudi/llm-inspector
1•helasaoudi•27m ago•0 comments

Continually aim just beyond your current range (2007)

https://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/continually-aim-just-beyond-your-current-range/
1•dorjoy•29m ago•0 comments

Claude shows subtle biases to Anthropic across carefully controlled tests

https://twitter.com/owainevans_uk/status/2078149976807592112
1•nsagent•31m ago•0 comments

European Search Perspective

https://www.eu-searchperspective.com
1•Topfi•35m ago•0 comments

Neil Rimer thinks the AI money is coming back out

https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/17/neil-rimer-thinks-the-ai-money-is-coming-back-out/
1•adithyaharish•40m ago•0 comments

Ask HN: Having a child before career has taken off

2•lassearpe•42m ago•2 comments

Show HN: Forward-Only, Autograd-Free PINN with 0ns Zero-Copy Memory Interlock

https://github.com/PJHkorea/Forward_Only_Autograd_Free_PINN
1•PJHkorea•42m ago•1 comments

LG monitors silently install software through Windows Update without consent

https://videocardz.com/newz/lg-monitors-silently-install-software-through-windows-update-without-...
44•baranul•48m ago•1 comments

US lawmakers urge Trump administration to ban Chinese memory chips

https://www.ft.com/content/9e7cdf3c-2e52-492f-afeb-b63d86a53ce6
2•giuliomagnifico•48m ago•1 comments

IEA Warns World Has Just Weeks to Avoid Hormuz Economic Shock

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/IEA-Warns-World-Has-Just-Weeks-to-Avoid-Hormuz...
4•baranul•55m ago•0 comments

Show HN: GPT-5.6 Sol vs. Claude Fable 5 in CNC Red Alert 2

https://system-2-arena.vercel.app/showcase/ra2?war=sol-vs-fable-lake
2•masterchef2209•55m ago•0 comments

Billion-dollar California salad company exploits undocumented migrants (2014)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/23/billion-dollar-california-salad-company-exploits-...
2•cramer4next•55m ago•0 comments

Show HN: Fable 5 vs Kimi K3 in CNC Red Alert 2

https://system-2-arena.vercel.app/showcase/ra2?war=fable-vs-kimi-1
1•masterchef2209•57m ago•0 comments

Detroit ranked as having the worst air quality in the world

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2026/07/16/detroit-ranked-as-having-the-worst-air-quali...
1•geox•58m ago•0 comments

India's largest nuclear power plant Kudankulam exposed in data breach

https://www.reuters.com/world/india/files-relating-indias-largest-nuclear-power-plant-kudankulam-...
2•thunderbong•1h ago•0 comments

The cost of forming an LLC in every US state (in 2026)

https://www.incorpassist.com/blog/us-states/real-cost-to-form-an-llc-by-state
1•incorpassist•1h ago•1 comments

Ask HN: Will Oracle's fall from grace be good for Open Source

1•lifeisstillgood•1h ago•2 comments

Math Corps 2026

https://alexkontorovich.wordpress.com/2026/07/18/math-corps-2026-visiting-day-directors-remarks/
1•mathgenius•1h ago•0 comments