Three novice hikers became lost and needed rescue this week after using Google's Gemini, an artificial intelligence chatbot, to plan their summit of Mount Shasta.
The men reached the peak around 7 p.m. Sunday, beginning their descent near dark. Rangers recommend turning back at noon to give hikers and, potentially, rescuers ample daylight.
One hiker fell and injured their knee, forcing the group to spend the night in Mud Creek Canyon. The following morning, the U.S. Forest Service Climbing Rangers and the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Volunteers found the hikers “exhausted, hungry and thirsty” and helped them to the trailhead.
After the rescue, the men told a sheriff's deputy they had relied heavily on Gemini for information about their route and what to pack.
“This was a critical misstep, as they were advised by Gemini to bring far less food and water than their group required, especially when their planned 8-hour ascent became a multi-day ordeal," the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
The climbers also told Forest Service rangers that the AI platform recommended simple carbohydrates instead of fats because fats "take too long to digest."
Nick Meyers, lead climbing ranger with the U.S. Forest Service and director of the Mt. Shasta Avalanche Center, said this is the first year he’s seen visitor incidents involving AI. This week's incident was the only one that required a rescue.
“We had another where a visitor had printed off a map that was produced by AI,” Meyers said. “It was terrible, like really bad.”
In another instance, a woman was camping in a prohibited area that AI recommended.
“She said, ‘Well, ChatGPT said I could camp here,’" he said.
Meyers said AI wasn’t totally to blame for this latest incident.
“It wasn't terrible information,” he said. “They also just had poor mountain sense and just made some bad decisions on their climb.”
Meyers said relying on AI could give inexperienced hikers a bit too much confidence in their mountaineering skills. But he doesn't want to discourage people from exploring Mount Shasta.
“What nature and climbing mountains and all that brings to people is really important,” he said.
He recommends people visit trusted sources for backcountry information, like the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center or a Forest Service ranger station. Hikers should also carry multiple navigation methods rather than relying solely on a cellphone.
