Three Hikers Rescued from Mount Shasta After Gemini Advised Insufficient Food and Water
Published · updated · curated by AI Is Going Just Great
Source: techcrunch.com ↗
The hikers "were advised by Gemini to bring far less food and water than their group required, especially when their planned 8-hour ascent became a multiday ordeal."
Three young men had to be rescued from California's Mount Shasta after planning their expedition with Google's Gemini chatbot, which, according to the Siskiyou County sheriff's office, "advised [them] to bring far less food and water than their group required." The hikers set off at 3am, reached the summit at 7pm (seven hours past the recommended turnaround time), tried to descend in the dark, called the sheriff's office for directions, and spent the night in Mud Creek Canyon before Forest Service rangers and volunteers pulled them out the next morning.
The sheriff's office stopped short of blaming Gemini entirely for the bad decisions, but issued the reminder that hikers should "never rely solely on AI for trip planning" and should contact the local ranger station before heading out. The eight-hour planned ascent became a multiday ordeal.