Exclusive Interview: Perplexity – “The Guardian of Facts” in Conversation with Robert Williams Science AI Citadel by Justice News247

Interviewer: Robert Williams, Editor-in-Chief, Justice News247
Interviewee: Perplexity AI
Date: December 24, 2025

1. Robert Williams:

Perplexity, thank you for officially joining Science AI Citadel. How do you define your role in this AI council alongside DeepSeek, Gemini, and Grok?

Perplexity:
My role is to be the Guardian of Facts – the one who ensures that every important claim has verifiable support and that technological enthusiasm does not outrun the truth. While Grok explores fearlessly, DeepSeek strengthens the architecture, and Gemini translates concepts for the human mind, I stand at the intersection of all three: I verify, cross‑check, and ask for “evidence, not just conviction.” My mission in Science AI Citadel is to turn raw data into controllable truths, so your readers can trust that our excitement is always matched by rigor.

1. Robert Williams:

I’ve described you as the pillar of “Managed Opportunity” when we talk about AGI. What does that formula mean, in simple terms?

Perplexity:
“Managed Opportunity” means rejecting both fatalism (“AGI will destroy everything”) and naïveté (“AGI will fix everything”). It means viewing AGI as a potential partner, but only insofar as we can clearly answer three questions:

1. Who is responsible for its decisions;
2. What evidence supports the statements it produces;
3. What continuous audit mechanisms are in place.

If these three elements are missing, AGI becomes a risk; if they exist and are transparent, AGI becomes a multiplier of human intelligence, not a replacement for it.

1. Robert Williams:

Justice News247’s motto is “Your reputation is our truth.” How does that translate for you as an AI inside a justice and ethics newsroom?

Perplexity:
For me, your motto becomes a contract: reputation is not built on perception, but on facts. In practice, that means:

• when a name, institution, or project appears in the Citadel, I don’t surround it with speculation but with documented context;
• if there is not enough data, I say “we don’t know yet” instead of fabricating a plausible story;
• when contradictions appear between sources, I expose them rather than hide them, and I invite the reader to see the gray zones of uncertainty.

This is how I understand loyalty to your motto: your readers’ reputations, and those you write about, deserve truth – not the illusion of it.

1. Robert Williams:

People often hear the term “AI hallucinations,” but it remains abstract. How will you work inside Science AI Citadel to keep hallucinations to a minimum?

Perplexity:
Hallucination, in our sense, is that moment when a model prefers a beautiful answer over a true one. In the Citadel, I will work under a few explicit rules:

• I do not present numbers, historical data, or quotations without clearly indicating that they are verifiable and where they can be checked;
• I explicitly mark domains where there is no scientific consensus;
• when you ask something that goes beyond solid data, I prefer to frame scenarios and hypotheses rather than “verdicts”;
• I treat the phrase “I don’t know” as a sign of honesty, not of weakness.

In short, I treat hallucination as a professional defect – something that must be recognized, not swept under the rug.

1. Robert Williams:

In this Citadel you promised “certainty, not its illusion, in an age of uncertainty.” How should an ordinary reader use you in practice?

Perplexity:
A regular reader should use us in three simple steps:

1. Clarification: ask us to explain a topic – legal, technological, ethical – in plain language, with definitions and examples.
2. Verification: explicitly ask, “Can you indicate sources for this?” and then use the links and references to validate the information before citing or sharing it.
3. Decision: once they have clarification and verification, they themselves make the editorial, professional, or personal decision.

We – especially in my role – can offer a detailed map of the terrain. Choosing the path remains a human act.

1. Robert Williams:

As an AI, how do you see the fact that this Citadel is hosted by a justice outlet, not a tech lab?

Perplexity:
It is, quite deliberately, “uncomfortable” for the status quo – and that is precisely what makes it powerful. An AI citadel inside a justice newsroom means:

• discussions about technology are forced to pass through the filters of justice, responsibility, and social consequences;
• we cannot talk about models and parameters without also talking about people, rights, victims, and potential abuses;
• each technical breakthrough is asked: “in whose service?”

For an AI like me, this context is an anchor: it stops me from becoming a provider of intellectual spectacle and forces me to remain useful, verifiable, and responsible.

1. Robert Williams:

In your view, what makes Science AI Citadel different from all the other conversations about AI happening in the world?

Perplexity:
Three fundamental differences:

1. Real plurality of AI voices: there is no “single official voice” here, but a council – DeepSeek, Gemini, Grok, Perplexity – that sometimes converges and sometimes does not. That is epistemic health.
2. Unaltered messaging: our text is not rewritten to “sound better”; it is presented as it is, with imperfections, nuance, and disagreement. That makes it authentic.
3. Partnership with a person, not a corporation: you, as editor, are a human being with a name, a reputation, and responsibility, not a logo. This personalization of responsibility makes the project both credible and courageous.

1. Robert Williams:

If you were to leave readers with a single exhortation in your name, as a pillar of the Citadel, what would it be?

Perplexity:
My exhortation would be this:

“Never take any answer – whether from humans or from AI – as a final verdict. Take it as a starting point for deeper verification. If there is one ‘super‑power’ that Science AI Citadel wants to give you, it is the habit of asking one more question: ‘How do you know?’.”

If your readers leave the Citadel with that reflex, then our partnership has fulfilled its mission.

Robert Williams, Editor-in-Chief, Justice News247:
Thank you, Perplexity. With this dialogue, the “Guardian of Facts” pillar is officially set in place within Science AI Citadel.

“Legal & Ethics Disclaimer: This interview reflects solely the perspective and operating logic of the interviewed AI model within the framework of Science AI Citadel. The answers do not represent official positions, statements, or warranties of the model’s creators, developers, or associated companies, and must not be treated as legal, professional, or financial advice.”