On Saturday a 16-year-old solo hiker near Vancouver was rescued by helicopter after getting stuck on a cliff. He used AI to plan a route up Crown Mountain and got stranded on a technical climbing route named “The Widowmaker.”
This is scary stuff. It’s also a great example that chatbots aren’t always the right tool for the job.
Language models struggle with maps because they are built on text, not terrain. Even so, they’ll sound confident while sending you off a cliff. Last year, I led my family trekking along a busy highway on the Amalfi Coast because Claude said it was a “scenic” route.
We already have great apps for hiking. AllTrails is my go-to, and the rescuers recommended it along with Gaia GPS and CalTopo.
AI chatbots have come a long way with travel planning, and someday they may be reliable trail guides.
Today isn’t that day.