Dozens of tourists in Australia were fooled by artificial intelligence. They went to a remote settlement in search of hot springs, which later turned out to not exist in nature.
Previously, an article about Weldborough Hot Springs appeared on the website of an Australian travel company. Aspirants are promised “a peaceful holiday and “a true connection with nature”. The post claims the site has been named one of Tasmania's top seven hot springs by 2026, with pools rich in medicinal minerals and popular for both tourism and wellness trips.
Tourists go in search of hot springs in Weldborough, a small town in northeastern Tasmania, 110 kilometers from the state capital Hobart. It turns out there are no hot springs there and never have been. There is a river that flows through this area but it is very cold.
The investigation found that the text on the website was generated by artificial intelligence. AI also generates images for illustration. The document is assessed as “an AI illusion is information that at first glance seems trustworthy but in fact has nothing to do with reality.
The travel agency owners said they had no intention of deceiving anyone. Material for the website was prepared by a third party contractor and some articles were posted without verification. According to the businessmen, the incident tarnished their reputation and led to a series of accusations from users of the website. The only people who benefited from the situation were the owners of a hotel in Weldborough, who suddenly had more guests visiting them, The Independent reported.
It was previously known that AI learned to recognize dinosaur tracks. The accuracy of his detection was 90%.
