AI and foraging books
This showed up in a group on Facebook that I am in. Thought it was worth sharing for our protection...
Important foraging alert! In the unending dystopian nightmare that is AI, there are now AI generated foraging books that include incredibly unsafe advice including recommending consuming toxic plants.
Below is a screenshot of AI generated books on Amazon to AVOID. They are not real authors and the text is AI generated.
Before you buy any foraging books make sure you can verify the author independently. Here are some trusted, verified authors and publishers that I have personally read:
Samuel Thayer
Falcon Guides
The Regional Foraging Series (Lisa M. Rose is the Midwest author)
Gary Lincoff
Ellen Zachos
Mykel Hawke and Douglas Boudreau
Please feel free to holler at me if you have any questions or want to verify/discuss a book you're thinking about buying.
Comments
-
Thank you! This AI stuff is getting scary.
-
A good caution on knowing your authors before purchasing any books that have to do with what we consume or what we use for medicine.
Better yet, find someone local who does foraging classes. When I am leading foraging walks, I try to nibble on things as I go, so that newbies know that I am certain of my plants, especially if I have new people on the walk. If I can eat them, so can they.
This is extremely important if you are foraging for mushrooms! I never rely on a book for this. I make sure mushrooms are identified to me by a live instructor. Usually more than once. :)
If people are concerned about purchasing any books, don't forget our recommended lists of excellent books in the discussions under:
-
I agree with @Torey it is so important to know the source of the information. Finding an author that can be trusted really is important. I love the idea of finding a local that does foraging classes. When I was very young my father used to teach foraging. Unfortunately, he had moved on from that by the time I would have been old enough to learn much from him. I do still have several of his books. I worry that they might be outdated.
-
Thanks @Torey! I was going to link that list, but you beat me to it.
I finally got a bit of breathing room from my recent busy days. Thank goodness... it is 36°C outside today! I finished doing up pears at 1:30 pm. Nothing like preheating the house on a hot day!
@Michelle D You can always compare them to more recent works from trusted herbalists. What a treasure you have!
-
On this subject, I am finding more & more articles that are structured with repeated information, and slightly (or very) altered information.
This has been for many subjects lately, all to do with harvesting land/processing garden vegetables.
This is making the internet essentially absolutely useless!
Here is an example.
https://kitchensinkpublishing.com/how-to-blanch-beets/
Notice the varied information on how to blanch beets, over & over again in many "steps." There are multiple "articles" now "published" in this same structure, with many "steps" that are not steps at all.
My brain hurts for those who want to know real and accurate information and just will not find it anymore. It blows my mind, 🤯 so much so that I think there is nothing left. 🤷♀️
-
@LaurieLovesLearning Did I misread something in the article. At the first section it says to blanch for 35 minutes. Later in the article it says 3-5 minutes. So the long winded information is contradictory in the article.
-
@vickeym Nope, you saw some of what I was seeing! This is how this type of AI article seems to go.
-
My word.... it is scary, and especially troubling for me as an author. I have been working for months on a foraging recipe book. Stuff like this could undermine confidence in all foraging books.
-
I noticed this before as well. I found a bladdernut tree and several articles said the same exact brief information about using the seeds as walnuts in chocolate chip cookies. There is no way these could be used in that manner and still keep your teeth intact. Useless information.
-
Staphylea trifolia for those that are about to ask me....
-
@judsoncarroll4 It's going to mess with the credibility of every subject under the sun. Whomever is writing now will have to also be very careful with vetting their sources and be sure to reference/credit them properly.
At this point at least since AI isn’t great at this, proper grammar, punctuation & being creative with words, not repeating them over & over (like instead of just using "said," using "stated" "exclaimed" etc., for example) would be a prudent thing to do.
I think what will help you moving forward is possibly confirmation of having others verbally/in print support your work. Networking and having accolades & endorsements from others that are respected in whatever field you are writing about are priceless & essential at this point. Possibly this is where having recognized credentials would help.
I think instead of moving forward, it appears that everything in the "at your fingertips" world has taken us back to who knows what era... definitely not a trustworthy nor intelligent one.
-
That is true in many regards. We now have more information available at the click of a button than all of humanity had in all libraries 50 years ago, but we are more ignorant than at any point in in modern history. I don't know the stats for Canada, but int he US 2/3 of high school students cannot read competently. At this rate, America will soon be largely illiterate!
-
Depending on which source you look at, Canada has a literacy rate that is between 54% and 58%, so we are doing slightly better than the US but its still not great.
If nearly 50% of our population (or as @judsoncarroll4 says, 66% of Americans) are unable to read well, they won't have the skills to determine whether or not the material they are looking contains the glaring errors that have been mentioned.
So to combat AI, we need to ensure that our children can read at a level that will allow them to discern if the material is factual.
-
I agree entirely
-
You also need to teach good critical thinking in addition to reading, writing & research skills. Kids & adults have to be able to properly assess all aspects.
These things all not being taught creates blind followers, not independent thinkers, that are easily lead whichever way the wind may blow. This spells the downfall of a formerly prosperous society.
-
Sure is a scary thing that AI generated foraging books are calling toxic plants edible. Almost makes me wonder if it's meant to discourage people from foraging for food.
-
AI is very much in an experimental phase. Go ahead and experiment with ChatGPT and similar things, but don't trust any of the information you get back without verifying it elsewhere.
The whole issue is a reminder to find sources you can trust. Unfortunately, that is harder to do today.
One foraging book I do recommend is _Stalking the Wild Asparagus_. It has been around a long time and can often be found at used books sales.
-
Love Euele Gibbons books. Uh not sure I spelled his name correctly.
-
It is really getting wierd out there. Thanks for posting this alert.
I watched a David Budyne podcast where he is showing the Google is systematically scrubbing websites with what they deem as "mis information". Whatever that means (and I am sure you know what that means). There is some new flagging system so those sites will never make it in a search query.
It is like they are re-writing the inernet in front of our eyes.
-
That is actually, exactly what they are doing. Just as they are re-writing much of our history. The definitions of many words are being changed as well.
-
We've included some HUMAN-recommended references and books in this article.
Can you help us out?
What is your #1 HUMAN-recommended resource for safe and ethical Wildcrafting and Foraging?
-
The Boreal Herbal: Wild Food and Medicine Plants of the North by Beverley Gray Is one of my favorites since it covers Alaska which is my home.
Discovering Wild Plants by Janice J. Schofield
Alaska's Wild Plants: A Guide to Alaska's Edible Harvest Todd Communications
Wild Remedies: How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine by Rosalee de la Forêt and Emily Han
I know these will not apply to everyone. But many in the far north, it might.
-
The forum page on Educational Books & Other Resources has several lists of excellent book recommendations, many of which were written long before AI got involved. List of trusted websites, too.
The following books are listed on one of the discussions in that section but are worth mentioning again.
Any of the Plant ID and Foraging books produced by Lone Pine Publishing are excellent, well researched books. There are 5 just for my province (Plants of Coastal BC, Plants of the Southern Interior of BC, Plants of Northern BC, Plants of the Rocky Mountains and Alpine Plants of BC, Alberta and the Northwest) with volumes for most of the other provinces and many of the states. I also recommend their book, Edible & Medicinal Plants of Canada which should be useful in at least the northern states.
-
I second @Torey's suggestions above. I have collected some Lone Pine books as well. Robert Dale Roger's books are good. Thomas J. Elpel is great as well. "Aboriginal Plant Use in Canada's Northwest Boreal Forest" and also "Backyard Foraging" by Ellen Zachos are good.
I wonder what great foraging books our international members could recommend? @jowitt.europe @JodieDownUnder
-
Now is a good time to build out your paper-book library. There is a lot of good information on gardening, food preservation, food prep, and general cooking. It may not always be so readily available, so stock up now.
Whether you buy stuff online new (which mostly means Amazon), or online used (which I do whenever possible), or shop your local used books sales, stock up!
This Week's Leaders
Categories
- All Categories
- 34 Our Front Porch Welcome! (Please Read Before Posting)
- 56 Introductions & Region-Specific Discussions
- 341 Educational Opportunities & Resources
- 452 Current Events & Breaking News
- 47 Emergency/Disaster Preparedness & Resiliency
- 1.3K Our Garden: Growing Food
- 1.7K Our Apothecary: Natural & Home Medicine
- 509 The Back 40: Animal Husbandry & Harvesting
- 38 The Bush: Wild Game and Survival
- 517 Our Kitchen Table: Food Prep
- 391 The Homestead: DIY
- 1.2K Personal Journals
- 103 The General Store: Sell, Buy, & Barter