Every time I am thinking about AI, there is a fatal concept that comes to mind with AI, it has never done anything but, it can explain it in concept it but not much else.

Three novice hikers from Roseville were stranded overnight on Mt. Shasta after following Google’s Gemini AI for route and packing advice, turning an expected eight-hour climb into a multi-day ordeal in Mud Creek Canyon.

What.. the fuck.. asking gemini for instructions to climb a mountain is like asking google maps to guide you through a city when you forget its in pedestrian mode. You will go down more than a few one ways backwards and likely end up with mr police officier asking if you are on something.

In what authorities are calling a “critical misstep,” three hikers relied heavily on Google’s Gemini AI to guide them through a Mt. Shasta summit, leaving them stranded on the mountain’s southeastern flank.

A critical misstep is understatement of the century, what is next for our enterprising adventurers climbing Mt Everest and ignoring sherpa’s that have boots on the ground for centuries and going “Nah dude we got this with AI!” .

In a post on Facebook, the Sheriff’s Office said, “The men summited at 7:00 pm that evening, well after the recommended turnaround time of 12:00 pm, and descended in the dark.”
Officials said that, an hour into their descent, the group called the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch to ask for directions but eventually wandered off route into Mud Creek Canyon.
That evening, one of the hikers fell and suffered a knee injury.

Our heroes here failed in so many ways it’s not funny. AI is not a magic device that makes you superior at doing things it makes you stupider at doing things if you have no concept of how to do it. AI has never climbed a mountain, AI has never gone to work in new york through the subways and over road routes. it has a “concept” of all of this but it has never done it for itself and this makes AI a bad companion when the user does not know how to do things. If you are talking to AI about installing a 240v supply for your washing machine and use the same prompt later for building a PC you never know if the AI will amalgamate the two together and it tries to make you a PC powered at 240V .

If you are clueless and you have no idea how to do something, Start with the basics like “I want to go up Mt Shasta”. Than ask yourself what does it take to go up Mt Shasta , OH YEAH CLIMBING. our heroes were young here and likely from a university, firstly they could of checked at the uni if there was any climbing or hiking groups. Secondly, they could of reached out to any local climbing place and say ” hi, I do not have much climbing experience and want to climb Mt Shasta.” In two tenths of a second the guy at the climbing place is going to do one of two things, If he just answers the question he’d say “NO don’t do it ” Or if the guy is into his craft “no, please don’t do it, our Climbing group goes to Mt Shasta twice a year and its not recommended for novice, How about I offer you an introductory to climbing course at 25% off?”

We need to stop acting like AI is the mastery of anything, if anything the AI is the master of average, It takes the sum of human intelligence and averages it out. That is AI’s ability. It can’t fathom new ideas, It can NOT figure out how much rocks have fallen on Mt Shasta, Microclimates, our Heroes Abilities or disabilities.

At Mushroom Rock (12,800 ft), another climbing party warned them to turn around. They ignored them and kept climbing into the dark. This is class A dumbarrery at an epic level. Because at the simplest of levels walk around your house… Than blackout every window in the house and try that again. You will fail.

Reading further….. what .. oh What the fuck..

The incident occurred days before Google announced its multi-year partnership with Beast Industries, a company founded by YouTube influencer Jimmy Donaldson, also known as his media personality MrBeast, who produces viral spectacles online.
According to the announcement, on Sunday a new MrBeast video will follow Donaldson and his crew as they attempt to survive “some of the most extreme and treacherous climates on Earth.”
Teams will race to navigate the jungle, the desert and the Arctic using Google’s Gemini to help them identify dangers and survive “brutal weather.”

This will end well? But Mr Beast has millions of dollars and some experience here so I guess he will do well, but this idea is fucking horrible because it’s going to cause more heroes for Mt Shasta. Those rescues are not cheap and at times people recieve bills into the tens of thousands of dollars.

The sheriff’s office said hikers should also have multiple methods of wayfinding. “Do not simply rely on your cellphone or Garmin, and stop to verify that you are on the correct route often.”
The Clear Creek Route on Mt. Shasta, which the three hikers wandered onto, is not a technical mountaineering route, but officials say it still requires climbers to be physically fit and prepared for unforeseen circumstances, such as an injury, inclement weather or an unplanned overnight stay.
“Serious accidents and fatalities occur on the Clear Creek route when individuals become lost and wander into more dangerous terrain, such as the Mud Creek drainage,” officials said on Facebook.

My closing here is Mr Sheriff from the office has sage advice “Do not simply rely on your cellphone or Garmin, and stop to verify that you are on the correct route often.” This man is our hero in the adventure because the three guys basically decided to conquer a mountain with a keyboard.

ed note: with the use of generative images as of late it looks like spelling issues is back on the menu. oh well its another perfect example of why not to use one single device as a way to get a result. Im keeping the errors its funny..

Attributions from:
The LA times – Lost in the algorithm: Hikers stranded on Mt. Shasta after following Gemini AI’s plan