Start a conversation ↗

Description

AI and Critical Thinking: Spotting Errors, Verifying Sources and Deciding

Three hours to keep your critical judgement sharp when every answer sounds well written

  • 0.43 days — 3 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

An AI answer is fluent, structured and assertive. That confidence of form disarms vigilance: we re-read less, we rarely verify, and we sometimes accept reasoning we would have challenged had it come from a colleague. The errors that slip through are not the crudest ones but the most credible.

This short three-hour format builds the verification reflex. Participants learn to spot warning signals in a generated output, to verify information by cross-checking, to separate fact from interpretation, and to decide when an answer can be used as it stands.

Learning objectives

  • Spot warning signals in an answer produced by an AI tool
  • Verify information by cross-checking independent sources
  • Distinguish facts from interpretations within a generated output
  • Frame a request in a way that reduces the risk of error
  • Decide whether an output can be used as it stands

What makes this programme different

Practice on outputs containing genuinely credible errors
A four-question verification grid you can use every day
A three-hour virtual format that does not disrupt your week

Programme

1Why an Answer Convinces

Form and substance

  • Mechanisms that make a generated output credible
  • Factual errors, invented references and approximations
  • Confirmation bias in the way a request is framed
  • Effect of an assertive tone on the reader's vigilance

2Verifying an Output

The verification reflex

  • Identifying the statements that must be checked first
  • Cross-checking against independent sources
  • Checking figures, quotations and references
  • Distinguishing fact, interpretation and opinion

3Deciding and Using

How far to trust

  • Level of verification proportionate to what is at stake
  • Reframing a request to reduce the risk of error
  • Disclosing the use of AI in submitted work
  • Personal validation rules before circulating an output

Who is it for

Anyone using generative AI tools at work, whatever their level of practice.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Dates & locations

12 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.