Rescued Climbers Relied Too Much on AI
Political Issue: should we have clear signs and policies about behavior on public land. Recently I went down to Headlands Beach which has an annual sand sculpture display. This year there was a sign warning that defacing public artwork was a 5th degree felony and could face a $2500. In all the previous years the art displays had been almost totally destroyed probably by kids who think that half the fun of building sand sculpture is destroying them after wards.
We need to have clear signs and policies about things like camping and hiking on public land. They probably need to have some legal consequences if people are going to pay attention to them. Otherwise, many people may assume that getting into trouble doing these things is all part of the fun of doing them.
And of course, we also need to have clear signs and policies about the use of AI. Otherwise blaming misadventures on AI will also become a part of the whole experience.
Legal Issue: How do people go about finding out about their legal responsibilities before doing things? Especially given the myriad of possibilities: situations, laws, policies, etc.
From the linked article: “We relied too much on AI rather than our own critical thinking,” the group said following the rescue. The climbers had not consulted the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center website."
ReplyDeleteWell there you go. Seems like kind of a "duh" moment. One can consult AI for information, but is it reliable info? Who knows. The advice to follow would be the people with boots on the ground, responsible for the Avalanche Center website. And one's own critical thinking; if something doesn't seem like a good idea, it probably isn't.
We still need physical signs about hunting and camping on public land. Don't most sites like that post warnings about legal consequences for not following the rules?
AI might be useful for researching places one might want to explore. But you still need to pay attention to the information at the visitor centers and ranger stations. Unless Doge fired everyone who worked there, in which case you're at your own risk.
DOGE fired a significant portion of staff of national parks etc. They also fired a lot of people whose jobs included spotting wildfires in the early stages. Fire season is upon us now. What will the next few months bring in the way of disasters?
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