Chatbots Are Leading Hikers Astray, With Dangerous Consequences
2026-11-01 · WIRED
AI chatbots are now moonlighting as trail guides, sending hikers on routes that exist only in their imagination. Turns out blindly following a confident-sounding language model into the wilderness is about as smart as it sounds. Nothing says 'trust the algorithm' like getting lost in the backcountry because ChatGPT hallucinated a trail.