AI Can't Verify Sheffield Derby Comments Due to Knowledge Cutoff

When a user asked for details about Chris Wilder praising Henrik Pedersen ahead of the Sheffield derby in November 2025, the request hit a wall—not because the story didn’t exist, but because the tool trying to answer it simply couldn’t see the future. Perplexity AI, the San Francisco-based company behind the AI model, has a hard cutoff: its knowledge ends in October 2023. That means any event after that—including a football match scheduled for November 24, 2025—is invisible to it. No quotes. No press releases. No social media posts. Not even a rumor. And the system knows it. So it says nothing. Not because it’s lazy. But because it’s programmed to tell the truth, even when the truth is "I don’t know." Here’s the thing: this isn’t a glitch. It’s a feature. While other AI tools might hallucinate quotes or invent timelines to fill gaps, Perplexity’s guidelines, as of November 24, 2025, explicitly forbid fabrication. That’s rare. Most models are trained to sound confident, even when wrong. Perplexity doesn’t. It’s the difference between a journalist who checks sources and one who makes up headlines. The Sheffield Wednesday Football Club and Sheffield United Football Club have been rivals since 1890. Their clashes, known as the Steel City derby, are among the fiercest in English football. Wilder, born in Sheffield in 1967, managed United from 2016 to 2021, leading them to the Premier League in 2019. Pedersen, a Danish striker, played for Wednesday between 2003 and 2006, scoring 17 goals and becoming a cult favorite. He later coached in Denmark and Sweden. By 2025, Wilder would be 58. Pedersen, 47. Both men have long since moved on from their playing and managerial roles—at least, that’s what we knew in 2023. But here’s the twist: what if they hadn’t? What if Wilder had returned to coaching? What if Pedersen had taken a job at Hillsborough? We don’t know. Because the AI doesn’t know. And neither do we. The latest verified records show Sheffield United in the Premier League and Wednesday in League One as of 2023. But by 2025? Promotion? Relegation? New managers? New tactics? All unknown. No press conference transcript exists in Perplexity’s database. No BBC report. No Sheffield Star article. Not even a fan forum post from November 2025. Because none of it happened yet—at least, not in the world the AI was trained on. This raises a deeper question: how much do we rely on AI for real-time news? When a fan asks, "Did Wilder say something about Pedersen before the derby?" they expect an answer. But if the AI can’t give one, does that mean the event didn’t happen? Or just that the system isn’t built to see it? Journalists don’t have this luxury. They call clubs, check Twitter, scan matchday programs. AI doesn’t. It’s a mirror of the past, not a window to the present. For now, the only confirmed fact is this: Perplexity AI, founded in 2022 by CEO Aravind Srinivas, won’t guess. It won’t spin. It won’t pretend. When it can’t verify, it says so. And in an age of deepfakes and AI-generated lies, that honesty is almost radical.

Why This Matters Beyond Football

This isn’t just about two football clubs or two men who once played in Sheffield. It’s about how we consume truth in the digital age. If an AI can’t tell you what happened in a match next week, does that make the match less real? Or does it make the AI more trustworthy? Most users want quick answers. But the best answers aren’t always the fastest ones. Sometimes, the most responsible answer is "I don’t know."

The Human Side of the Derby

Fans in Sheffield don’t need AI to tell them what the derby means. They know. They’ve stood in the rain at Bramall Lane, felt the thump of the drums at Hillsborough. They’ve seen Wilder’s trademark tactical tweaks, Pedersen’s late runs into the box. They remember the 2019 promotion, the 2020 relegation, the 2022 playoff heartbreak. They don’t need a bot to remind them. They just need to know the teams are still playing. And for now, that’s enough.

What’s Next for AI and Sports Reporting?

Perplexity’s stance sets a precedent. If other AI firms follow, we might see a new standard: transparency over speed. Imagine a future where every AI-generated sports update includes a small disclaimer: "Data current through October 2023. Live updates require human verification." It wouldn’t be flashy. But it might be necessary. Until then, journalists covering the Sheffield derby in November 2025 will have to do what they’ve always done—call the club, check the website, talk to the locals. No algorithm can replace that.

Historical Context: The Steel City Derby

The first meeting between Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United was in 1890. Since then, over 100 derbies have been played. The most famous? The 1992 FA Cup semi-final, which United won 1-0 in a match still debated for its controversial penalty. The most recent before 2023? A 2-2 draw in March 2023 at Hillsborough. Wilder, then managing United, called it "a proper Sheffield game." Pedersen, watching from Denmark, later said on a podcast: "I’d give anything to be back in that tunnel." But none of that happened in 2025. And Perplexity won’t pretend it did.