ChatGPT Recommends Non-Existent and Dangerous Hiking Destinations in Peru
ChatGPT recommended tourists visit a non-existent hiking destination in Peru by combining the names of two unrelated locations. Two tourists who followed the advice paid $160 and found themselves stranded in a remote rural area, facing potential danger from high altitude and isolation.
What happened
ChatGPT generated travel advice recommending a non-existent destination called the 'Sacred Humantay Gorge' in Peru, which the company blended from the names of two unrelated locations.
Two tourists paid approximately 160 dollars based on the ChatGPT recommendation and ended up on a provincial road near Molepata without a guide or real destination.
Reported impact
Miguel Angel Gongora Meza, founder of Evolution Treks Peru, stated that tourists were placed at significant risk because the location does not exist and is in a remote area requiring careful planning. He said the misinformation could have been life-threatening due to high altitude (4,000 meters), lack of oxygen, and lack of cell phone signal in the Andes.
Index analysis
A 2024 study found that 33 percent of users who consulted AI for travel information received inaccurate data. Rayid Ghani, a machine learning professor at Carnegie Mellon University, explained that large language models like ChatGPT generate answers based on statistical word associations without true understanding of the data, leading to hallucinations where plausible but false information is presented.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.