Kodiak woman cited for illegal snipe hunt due to misleading Google AI instructions

A Wilson’s Snipe is seen in an undated photo published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (Larry Pace/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

By James Brooks

Alaska Beacon

Incorrect information provided by a Google AI overview caused a Kodiak woman to hunt snipe illegally on Sept. 5, according to a citation filed this week at the Kodiak district court.

Writing in an affidavit attached to the citation, Alaska Wildlife Trooper Alex Wick said Weaver called troopers to self-report the violation.

“Christina stated that she Googled ‘Snipe season’ on her phone and that, according to Google, snipe season began on September 1st,” he wrote.

Based on that information, she hunted three snipe but became suspicious after learning that duck season didn’t open until Oct. 8. 

Snipe are small game birds common in Alaska, Canada and the northern Lower 48.

“After conducting her own research, she learned that snipes are not legal to take under the general season until October 8th. Christina then contacted dispatch to turn herself in,” Wick wrote. 

He said he performed a Google search identical to Weaver’s and received identical incorrect information.

Google did not respond to an email seeking comment on the incorrect information provided by its software. The platform provides an immediate artificial intelligence generated summary of search findings. 

“I feel terrible, and I have a lot of shame with it. Obviously, that’s why I immediately self-reported once I got home and dived into the regs,” she said by phone on Friday. “It’s incredibly embarrassing.”

Austin McDaniel, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Public Safety, said the agency doesn’t keep track of cases involving false information provided by AI software. 

“This is the first time that I think we have seen AI cited,” he said. 

The one source of truth when it comes to hunts is the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s regulations and emergency orders, McDaniel said.

“I expect we’ll see more of this type of thing in the future,” he said of AI being at fault. 

McDaniel said Weaver acted completely correctly once she learned about the AI-caused mistake. Self-reported hunting violations are punished much less severely than ones uncovered by troopers.

“The potential consequences for self-turning in versus being caught can be pretty dramatic,” he said.

Weaver pleaded no contest to the citation on Friday and was fined $150. 

• James Brooks Cascade is a longtime Alaska reporter who lives in Juneau. He previously worked at the Anchorage Daily News, Juneau Empire, Kodiak Mirror and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.