While artificial intelligence is making its way into mushroom picking, the dangers are very real. These AI-generated apps and books sometimes confuse which species are edible and which are not.
Tests carried out by researchers (Unreliable AI tools generate misinformation about mushrooms et Identification applications, a danger) show that even the best AI identification apps are only about 50% accurate.
Even more worrying, these tools can mistake deadly species for edible mushrooms.
Fake photos and fake guides
On Amazon, we now also find mycological guides entirely generated by AI, sometimes published at a rate of 30 books per day by the same publisher.
Also on Google, fake photos of mushrooms abound.
Faced with this trend, the experts are clear: nothing replaces learning in the field with specialists and checking the basket by a professional.
Identifying mushrooms requires observing many criteria such as smell, texture, habitat — elements that an AI cannot evaluate from a simple photo.
In Switzerland, the main danger comes from amanita phalloides, a potentially deadly fungus that can be confused with a button mushroom when young.
Pascal Wassmer / juma
Swiss
