What happened

Looking to get to Dolina Pięciu Stawów from Hala Gąsienicowa in the Tatras mountains in southern Poland, three hikers resorted to asking ChatGPT to show them the way. 

The bot showed them the shortest route but failed to take into account the treacherous winter conditions, including icy paths and a snow blizzard.

Finding themselves in serious danger, the tourists had to call mountain rescuers for help and they were hauled off the mountain.

Why it happened

A general purpose tool, ChatGPT can be used in any situation. But it is also known to be inaccurate, unreliable and pose many known risks. 

OpenAI warns users that the system can make mistakes at the point of use, but fails to provide further information on what these are or what they may mean in an accessible or visible manner, meaning users such as the hikers in Poland can easily believe it is the answer to all their questions.