Mushroom Hunting Guides On Amazon Could Reportedly Be Fatal: 'The Deadliest AI Scam'

Amazon.com, Inc AMZN is reportedly selling mushroom hunting guides written by artificial intelligence (AI), posing a potential risk of fatal advice to readers.

The New York Mycological Society has issued a warning about these AI-authored books sold on Amazon and other retailers. It specifically cautions, “Please only buy books of known authors and foragers, it can literally mean life or death,” reported Fortune.

The Society further labeled these guidebooks as “the deadliest AI scam” as the authors and their credentials are fabricated, and their species identification could prove fatal.

Instances have already occurred in Australia where three people died, likely due to ingesting death cap mushrooms, which are hard to distinguish from edible ones, according to the report.

See Also: Amazon Employee Crafts Satirical ‘Leadership Principles’ Amid Return-To-Office Uproar: ‘Fire And Demote The Best’

Amazon has yet to respond to Fortune’s request for comment. However, the company told The Guardian, “We take matters like this seriously and are committed to providing a safe shopping and reading experience. We're looking into this."

The problem is expected to escalate as more fraudsters utilize chatbots to create content. A recent New York Times report highlighted AI-written travel guidebooks, all of which were detected as AI-generated by an artificial intelligence detector.

Amazon shares closed at $138.12 on Monday, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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