A 16-year-old hiker who asked artificial intelligence for directions up a Canadian mountain was rescued after the route Anthropic's Claude chatbot set him on led to a steep rock face.
Bryce Gowryluk took a gondola up Grouse Mountain, near Vancouver, and asked Claude to plan a route to nearby Crown Mountain and back, according to reporting by The New York Times.
The trek typically takes about eight hours, and hiking guides warn it is not suitable for beginners.
He eventually found himself at the base of the Widowmaker Arete, a 518m wall in British Columbia that requires ropes, cams and a clear plan for ascent.
Gowryluk, a keen indoor climber, did not have the right equipment. He realised the terrain was too steep and that he was stuck at the base of a cliff. He phoned his mother, then called emergency services.
Police notified North Shore Rescue, which sent a helicopter. The rotors could not safely get close enough to the rock face, so two rescuers were lowered down to bring him up.
He was then flown to a rescue base near Cleveland Dam.
North Shore Rescue manager Paul Markey said the boy was reasonably well prepared for the hike but not for rock climbing.
"In this particular case, the boy had a headlamp, good clothing, a good pair of boots, a spare battery and spare food. He was pretty well equipped for hiking and scrambling, but he was certainly not prepared or equipped for rock climbing," he told The Guardian.
Markey said Claude had never been to the area, so it could only offer a limited description of the terrain.
He also said some apps mark trails in places rescuers would rather were left unmarked, and people end up in trouble when they follow routes they assume are safe.
"The main thing is: do not blindly rely on AI as a route planning tool. It can never substitute for good education, good training, a good experience and good decision making in the field."
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