There are many commonly used excuses that are, in fact, useless. The dog ate my homework. I didn’t see the speed limit sign. I didn’t know that was income, and more.
Now, in the age of artificial intelligence there are new ones appearing, including, Google told me wrong.
That’s the problem facing duck hunters who was firing shots in Idaho … on a day when that wasn’t legal.
A report from Cowboy State Daily explained an experienced hunter called counting on AI for accurate information is a “crapshoot.”
At best.
Game agents in Idaho had to issue citations to hunters who thought they were following the law, but weren’t.
“Idaho Fish and Game spokesman Roger Phillips told Cowboy State Daily some hunters were shooting on the wrong day.”
Idaho officials say they want to get on top of the problem right away.
“It’s one of those things, when it starts to bubble up, we want to alert people to what’s going on,” explained Phillips.
Officials in Wyoming, which also has a major industry in hunting, also have concerns.
“Amanda Fry, of Wyoming Game and Fish, explained, “We are seeing inaccuracies in some AI-generated overviews of our regulations. It is an important reminder to reference our website directly for accurate information on our laws and regulations.”
She told the publication state officials are happy to provide “accurate” information.
It was Cody’s Scott Weber, who has hunted for decades in Wyoming and other states, who told Cowboy State Daily that “he wouldn’t trust AI to keep him from getting crossways with the law.”
Only the official regulations count, he pointed out.
The report explained, “In the case of the duck hunting regulations, staff discovered that a search engine pulled proposed hunting season dates that were proposed at some point during commission meetings.”
Wrong.
Commissioners actually picked other dates.
The report noted another bad situation developed when AI attached fishing regulations from another state to an Idaho river with a similar name.
Game wardens aren’t inclined to let excuses stand.
“Here’s the thing about that, and game wardens will tell you this, you as a hunter are responsible for knowing all the regulations.”