As more people take part in outdoor recreation, experts warn that relying on AI chatbots for backcountry advice can introduce serious risks. Chatbots may present false information with confidence, encourage users to follow unsafe plans and weaken critical thinking, making it important to verify their guidance through authoritative sources and experienced professionals.
Why AI advice can be risky outdoors
“Over the past 20 years, there’s been an incredible media push to get more people outdoors, and as a result, more people are doing outdoor recreation,” says Jim Moss, a Colorado-based recreation attorney and search-and-rescue volunteer. It remains unclear, he added, how questionable advice from robots will affect all these people.
Seeking guidance from an AI chatbot carries risks of its own. Chris Frasman, a human-centered computing professor at Clemson University in South Carolina who studies AI and search and rescue, said chatbots can produce “hallucinations”—convincingly presented false information—and contribute to a phenomenon known as “cognitive surrender.”
“When humans work with AI systems, they can become so immersed in the AI system that they abandon the ability to think critically for themselves,” Frasman explained. If an AI presents itself as an expert on an unfamiliar subject, “I can’t call BS on that because I don’t have the expertise.” Once critical thinking stops, it can be difficult to resume, particularly in stressful backcountry situations.
Chatbots also tend to tell users what they want to hear, often in an authoritative tone, regardless of whether the information they cite comes from a trustworthy source, Frasman and colleagues said. Claude and ChatGPT may sound reliable, but their responses can draw on Reddit threads and old YouTube videos, and some information may be completely fabricated.
AI can encourage outdoor plans
TikTok and Instagram may inspire viewers, but AI can provide direct guidance and encouragement, whether that advice is right or wrong, Flatman said. “AI is not trying to trick people into climbing mountains, but I think it’s a natural evolution of what happens when you have tools like this.”
How to verify outdoor information
Regardless of which resources a recreationist uses, experts offer the same advice: when visiting a new location, double-check information against reliable and authoritative sources. These include the latest maps and websites from public lands agencies, trail association websites and guidebooks. Better still, speak with an actual guide, national forest official or park ranger.
“If you’re going somewhere where you’re going to lose your life, you should take your plans seriously,” Myers said.
Source: www.wired.com