A group of climbers found themselves in a dangerous situation in the mountains of California due to incorrect advice from artificial intelligence, reports infohub.kz.
The tourists decided to conquer Mount Shasta in Siskiyou County, fully trusting the recommendations of the Google Gemini chatbot. The AI assured them that the ascent would take only eight hours and advised them to bring light food rich in simple carbohydrates. As a result, the climbers set off with small backpacks, without warm clothing or overnight gear.
However, the climb took the group a full 16 hours instead of the promised eight. They reached the summit after sunset and lost their way on the descent. The situation was worsened by a dead smartphone, leaving the tourists without communication or navigation. They had to call for rescue, but due to adverse weather conditions, helicopter evacuation was impossible.
The search and rescue service, along with the U.S. Forest Service, spent nine hours extracting the climbers on foot. The hikers admitted that they trusted AI too much and neglected critical thinking. Local experts strongly recommend verifying routes with rangers and not using chatbots for planning extreme activities.