{"id":17402,"date":"2026-07-17T06:53:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T06:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/17402\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T06:53:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T06:53:13","slug":"chatgpt-leaves-two-hikers-stranded-in-the-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/17402\/","title":{"rendered":"ChatGPT Leaves Two Hikers Stranded in the Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"\"After ChatGPT led hikers into difficult hiking terrain, a helicopter rescue was necessary. | Credit: CNSAS<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a saying that goes something like \u201cdon\u2019t trust everything you see on the internet.\u201d\u00a0It looks like that statement might carry over to A.I.<\/p>\n

On July 4, 2026, a pair of Lithuanian hikers were taking a hike through the Tatra Mountains in Poland when they decided to consult the popular A.I. chatbot ChatGPT about an alternate route through the mountains. But instead of finding an alternate route, the couple found themselves waiting for a helicopter rescue.<\/p>\n

The couple was looking to take a shortcut to the Five Lakes Valley based on ChatGPT\u2019s recommendations.\u00a0The A.I. took them to the \u015awinicka \u0141awka traverse, where the hikers found they were unable to continue. Difficult climbing terrain below the peak of Niebieska Turnia in Southern Poland was to blame.<\/p>\n

The couple then called Tatra Volunteer Search and Rescue (TOPR), a non-profit association that organizes rescue missions.\u00a0According to TOPR, the couple was safely evacuated by helicopter.<\/p>\n

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This Isn\u2019t The First Time This Has Happened<\/p>\n

People have been increasingly turning to A.I\u2019s like ChatGPT for planning hike routes and other excursions, but this is not the first time someone has been led astray.<\/p>\n

In 2025<\/a>, two Canadian hikers used a route planned by ChatGPT, which gave them insufficient details about the hike. Because of this, the hikers were not prepared for the weather conditions and were not outfitted for the snow-covered trails, forcing a rescue on Unnecessary Mountain in British Columbia performed by local search-and-rescue teams. The direct harm caused by the chatbot earned the 2025 episode the official label of an \u201cA.I. Incident,\u201d according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) A.I. monitor<\/a>,<\/p>\n

A.I. chatbots have also built a reputation for sending hikers to places that do not even exist. According to the OECD A.I. monitor, chatbots have conjured up non-existent locations, such as the \u201cSacred Canyon of Humantay\u201d in Peru. The OECD warns that following chatbots\u2019 advice puts people at risk of financial loss and physical harm, as they can end up in dangerous environments without proper preparation.<\/p>\n

Not Entirely Useless, Though<\/p>\n

While it certainly has its weaknesses, A.I. can still be helpful. Two hikers lost in Kosciuszko National Park in Australia were rescued within hours using\u00a0an A.I.-powered drone<\/a>. Because of this, more rescue teams and ski resorts across the country are carefully implementing A.I. into their search-and-rescue teams.<\/p>\n

Belleayre Mountain<\/a>, located in New York, is a ski resort that has already begun using A.I. and drones to improve guest safety on the mountain. The resort launched its A.I. Ski Patrol Drone Program in April, which started replacing traditional human ski patrollers with state-of-the-art, artificially intelligent aerial guardians.<\/p>\n

The Future of A.I. in the Outdoors<\/p>\n

As A.I. further moves into everyday life, more people will inevitably rely on it to assist with decision-making, including in the outdoors.\u00a0The rescues in Poland and Canada show that while A.I. chatbots can be used for general information, they are not a perfect replacement for trail maps and local knowledge. But at the same time, search-and-rescue teams are demonstrating that A.I. can be a useful tool when used in the right settings.<\/p>\n

The strengths and limitations of A.I. show the delicate balance it needs during its use.\u00a0It can be used to make outdoor recreation safer, but treating it like a flawless guide can have serious consequences.<\/p>\n

\"montisSki resorts and search-and-rescue teams across the United States are turning to drones and A.I. to assist with safety operations. | Credit: Drone Amplified<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After ChatGPT led hikers into difficult hiking terrain, a helicopter rescue was necessary. | Credit: CNSAS There\u2019s a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17403,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[395,1729,11422,11423,9],"class_list":["post-17402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-poland","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-hiker-rescued","tag-hiking-trail","tag-poland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}