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Hiker with phone next to Mount Shasta in California
Many people have become a bit too reliant on using artificial intelligence to help them navigate life. It can be a useful resource in some situations, but there are plenty of risks that come with taking its word as gospel, as highlighted by the case of three hikers who blamed the advice they followed before getting stuck on Mount Shasta in California.
At this point, I feel like most people are familiar with The Discourse surrounding the pros and cons of artificial intelligence based on how much of a hot-button topic it’s become.
I don’t really want to wade into that debate, but I feel like its biggest haters have to at least acknowledge there are certain applications where it has the potential to be a valuable tool. On the flip side, its most fervent evangelists aren’t doing themselves any favors by pretending there aren’t a slew of shortcomings that have the potential to cause some very real harm.
Those proponents have also played a significant role in positioning A.I. as an almost godlike source of knowledge and information, which has created a culture where many people view chatbots and platforms as infallible authorities that don’t need to be questioned.
However, that is firmly not the case, and we’ve been treated to our latest cautionary tale thanks to what unfolded in California last weekend.
Three climbers got stuck on Mount Shasta in California after relying on some bad A.I. advice
Mount Shasta is a volcano (albeit one that hasn’t erupted in more than 3,000 years) in the California Cascades that stands at 14,179 feet, which makes it the fifth-highest mountain in the state.
It’s situated inside the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, which welcomes millions of visitors each year—including plenty who attempt to take on the mountain.
There are 20 designated trails in the area that range from “Easy” to “Strenuous,” but none of them provide a direct route to the top of Mount Shasta. That is not a trek you want to tackle if you lack the proper training, equipment, and resources, which was seemingly the case with three “novice climbers” who decided to make their way to the summit on August 30th.
The U.S. Forest Service recapped the saga in a Facebook post recapping the ill-fated excursion, which began when they established a base camp at a “prohibited site” near the Clear Creek Trailhead on the evening of August 29th.
They set for the top of the mountain around 3 A.M. on Sunday “carrying enough food and water for an 8-hour climb,” which was less than ideal when you consider it took them sixteen hours to get to the summit, which they arrived at around 7 P.M.
They still had to get back down at that point, which is where thing really took a turn for the worse. The group called 911 for directions around an hour after they began their descent, but they veered off course before the battery on the phone they were relying on to track their location on the AllTrails app died.
The situation continued to deteriorate when a member of the trio, who had a headlamp they were not using to conserve the battery, ended up falling and injuring their knee when they were at approximately 11,500 feet.
They eventually stopped at around 11,000 feet at midnight (although they “lacked adequate food, water, warm layers, or an emergency bivy”), and they seemingly called for help and remained there until a team of Forest Service Climbing Rangers made it to their location at 9:30 A.M. on Monday morning.
Weather conditions prevented a helicopter from being dispatched to assist with an evacuation, and they didn’t make it back to their base camp until 6:30 in the evening.
Artificial intelligence was painted as a major culprit, with park rangers saying:
The group reported using an AI platform, YouTube videos and AllTrails to plan their climb. Specifically, they relied on AI to determine what types of food to bring, and how much food and water they would need for the trip…
The group reflected that they carried enough food and water for an 8-hour climb, not a 16-hour ascent. They also reported that AI recommended simple carbohydrates for their climb, rather than fats because they “take too long to digest.”
In their words, “We relied too much on AI rather than our own critical thinking.”
That’s a rough way to learn a lesson, but it’s hard to imagine they’ll be making that mistake again.