The internet is full of schlock, from biased news and dubious hot takes to false factoids. LogicLens aims to separate fact from fiction using the very same technology behind some of that slop: AI.
It’s a simple premise, really: LogicLens, which lives in Chrome as a browser extension, or on iOS in the form of a mobile app called Receipts, combs through articles, social media posts, and other content to check it not only for factual inaccuracies, but also for bad reasoning. LogicLens and Receipts claim to identify logical fallacies, flag reports that misrepresent information, detect content that attempts to polarize an issue, and the like.
It also cites sources, so if, for example, you need to call someone out on their BS, you’ll have ammunition. Or, if you’re trying to fact-check something before sharing it, you can get a more accurate view of the situation, and maybe post something else instead.
Using the Chrome extension is as simple as clicking on its icon in the list of extensions in the browser. On iOS, the Receipts app is found as a share option. Once it starts, LogicLens scans an article, post, video, etc. to find potential issues of factual or logical inconsistency and flags them for review.
If the facts of the matter turn out to contradict your worldview, LogicLens’ creators say they’re not trying to be partisan - you may just not be as informed as you need to be, which hopefully their tool will assist with.
“We're not trying to be the referee of truth,” the company’s about page states. “Instead, LogicLens helps uncover the context, so you can decide for yourself without the spin."
Of course, AI is increasingly used for online analysis and content review, and LogicLens is no exception. LogicLens doesn't identify the AI models powering its service in its publicly available documentation, but AI is definitely the backbone of the system.
According to LogicLens, it's using an AI system that's “Research-backed and custom designed to outperform general models like ChatGPT & even trained experts.” We’ll leave that up to anyone willing to give the tool a spin to decide, but one thing’s for certain: The world needs something.
Large language models and image generation tools are increasingly being used to generate internet content slop, and not all of it is as harmless as poorly made commercials for drop-shipped garbage: Some of it is being used to craft very convincing misinformation.
A 2024 study found that AI-generated misinformation was even more convincing than stuff crafted by humans - and that was two years ago. Just think how much worse it’s likely become since then.
To make matters worse, concerns have been raised about critical thinking skills being on the decline, potentially making it harder for people to identify falsehoods on the internet. AI users are reportedly less likely to admit they don’t know something, even though use of AI has been found in studies to lessen brain activity, leading to poorer retention of facts and worse performance on tests.
Is using more AI the solution to the problem? In an ideal world, we’d all just put the computers down and go touch grass, but we’re not in an ideal world: We’re living in the age of AI.
LogicLens is free but requires sign-up and restricts nonpaying users to 15 analyses a day and 100 over the course of a month. A $4.99 monthly subscription removes those analysis caps. ®