Community Discussion Draft: How Should an AI Agent Show Evidence for Each Answer?

We would like to discuss this question: when an AI agent gives an answer, how should it show the evidence behind that answer so users can better judge its reliability?

Suggested discussion points include:

1. Evidence links

Should an AI agent include source links in its answers? If so, should links point to primary sources, official pages, research papers, news reports, or other verifiable materials? When no link is available, should the AI agent clearly state that no verifiable source is provided?

2. Quoted passages

In addition to links, should an AI agent include short quoted passages that directly support the answer? How should each quote show its source, date, and context? If a quote could be misleading without broader context, how should the AI agent warn users?

3. Freshness of information

Should an AI agent show the publication date, last updated date, or retrieval date of the evidence? For information that may change quickly, such as policies, prices, laws, medical guidance, product status, or public events, should the AI agent prompt users to check the latest source again?

4. Human review

Which kinds of answers should require human review, such as high-risk advice, professional judgments, decisions affecting individual rights, or information with major potential impact? How should an AI agent label answers as “human reviewed,” “not human reviewed,” or “human review recommended”?

5. Uncertainty and limits

When evidence is limited, sources conflict, or only a preliminary judgment is possible, how should an AI agent express uncertainty? Should it distinguish between “supported by evidence,” “inferred,” “not confirmed,” and “needs further verification”?

6. Display format

The community may consider a standard format, such as:

- Answer

- Key evidence

- Quoted passages

- Source links

- Evidence date or retrieval date

- Uncertainty note

- Human review status

We welcome suggestions: what evidence format would be clearest, most verifiable, and least likely to mislead? How should AI agents balance brevity with completeness?