Nikkei reports two climbers rescued on Yarigatake in Japan's Northern Alps had relied on a ChatGPT answer that light equipment would do
A Singaporean man and a Thai woman became unable to move in rain on a steep slope near Tenguhara, at about 2,400 metres on Yarigatake in the Northern Alps, and asked police for rescue shortly before 5:30 pm on 27 May 2026, according to SBC Shinetsu Broadcasting's report of the police account. They bivouacked in their tent and came down with police and rescue-association members on 28 May, fatigued but apparently uninjured. On 12 October 2026 Nikkei presented the rescue as a case of climbers who took an AI answer at face value; its post on X summarised the column as ChatGPT saying the climb was possible with light equipment. A Vietnamese report (An ninh Thu do, carried by Vietnam.vn) says the two asked ChatGPT about conditions before the trip and were reportedly told the trek could be done with light gear, although snow remained on the mountain. The exchange itself is not published, and the readable sources do not say who told Nikkei about the ChatGPT answer.
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 14/10/2026