Experts are worried that books produced by ChatGPT for sale on Amazon, which target beginner foragers, could end up killing someone.

Many mushroom identification and foraging books being sold on Amazon are likely generated by AI with no human authorship. These books could provide dangerous misinformation and potentially lead to deaths if people eat poisonous mushrooms based on the AI’s inaccurate descriptions. Two New York mushroom societies have warned about the risks of AI-generated foraging guides. Experts note that safely identifying wild mushrooms requires careful research and experience that an AI system does not have. Amazon has since removed some books flagged as AI-generated, but more may exist. Detecting AI-generated books and authors can be difficult as the systems can fabricate author bios and images. Relying on multiple credible sources, as well as guidance from local foraging groups, is advised for safely pursuing mushroom foraging.

  • flora_explora@beehaw.org
    1·
    10 months ago

    Well, apart from that you can also make other mistakes like eating mushrooms undercooked or eating too old specimens leading to a food poisoning. Also, there are mushrooms that are quite edible for a long time but can cause organ failure and lead to death after many years.

    Anyways, it seems like a really bad idea to let an AI decide what of all of this information is important and how to communicate it.