Climbers asked Google Gemini how long Mount Shasta would take and what supplies to carry – things went badly wrong

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Facepalm: Most people know that, along with medical advice, planning a mountain climb is another item on the list of "things you really shouldn't ask AI about." A group of climbers discovered this the hard way when Gemini told them climbing Mount Shasta in Siskiyou County, California, would take a mere eight hours. The result was a 16-hour climb to the summit, a dead phone battery, and a sense of relief that things didn't go even worse.

The climbers said they used Google Gemini, YouTube, and AllTrails to prepare for the trip. In addition to using the AI for route research, the group also relied on the chatbot for food and water recommendations.

Gemini said to pack simple carbohydrates instead of fats for the eight-hour climb as fats "take too long to digest."...

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