Earlier this week, three young men with little climbing experience set out to summit Mt. Shasta, a 14,179-foot peak in California. Their planned eight-hour ascent ultimately turned into a search-and-rescue operation and drew national attention for one reason: The men used artificial intelligence to help plan their climb. "We relied too much on AI rather than our own critical thinking," the men reportedly said, according to a detailed account of the failed summit posted on Facebook by the U.S. Forest Service - Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
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Still, AI itself didn't doom their trip, National Forest Service lead climbing ranger Nick Meyers told Mashable. Instead, the hikers' plans were like "Swiss cheese," riddled with holes. That meant challenges compounded along the way until their situation escalated into an emergency. Their reliance on AI, YouTube videos, and the mobile mapping app AllTrails to plan and complete their climb turned their journey into a disaster.Meyers, who is also the director of the Mt. Shasta Avalanche Center, said AI-related incidents on Mt. Shasta have "started to become a thing" this year as visitors have received incorrect information from AI. However, this is the first incident to involve 911 and a rescue, he noted. "I think AI can be a great tool," Meyers told Mashable. "But I think when you're talking about entering into a risky environment, especially with nature, talk to a real person, or at least just fact-check the information you might get from AI."How the hikers' summit plans fell apartMeyers said AI correctly told the men that the summit should take eight hours. Per AI's guidance, they took enough food and water for that duration. It's unclear if AI suggested bringing additional supplies in case of an emergency.Meanwhile, AI also recommended they eat simple carbs instead of fats because those "take too long to digest." Mountaineers, meanwhile, know fats can sustain long climbs that burn thousands of calories. Still, Meyers conceded, at least they had food. What the men didn't account for was their own pace. Their ascent took double the anticipated time: 16 hours. At two different points on their ascent, the group paused to consider turning back but decided to keep going despite "not feeling great."
