An AI-Generated NWS Map Invented Fake Towns In Idaho (washingtonpost.com)
- Reference: 0180530523
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/01/07/0014200/an-ai-generated-nws-map-invented-fake-towns-in-idaho
- Source link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026/01/06/nws-ai-map-fake-names/
> At first glance, there was nothing out of the ordinary about Saturday's wind forecast for Camas Prairie, Idaho. "Hold onto your hats!" said a social media post from the local weather office in Missoula, Montana. "Orangeotild" had a 10 percent chance of high winds, while just south, "Whata Bod" would be spared larger gusts. The problem? Neither of those places exist. Nor do a handful of the other spots marked on the National Weather Service's forecast graphic, riddled with spelling and geographical errors that the agency confirmed were linked to the use of generative AI.
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> NWS said AI is not commonly used for public-facing content, nor is its use prohibited. The agency said it is exploring ways to employ AI to inform the public and acknowledged mistakes have been made. "Recently, a local office used AI to create a base map to display forecast information, however the map inadvertently displayed illegible city names," said NWS spokeswoman Erica Grow Cei. "The map was quickly corrected and updated social media posts were distributed."
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> A post with the inaccurate map was deleted Monday, the same day The Washington Post contacted officials with questions about the image. Cei added that "NWS is exploring strategic ways to continue optimizing our service delivery for Americans, including the implementation of AI where it makes sense. NWS will continue to carefully evaluate results in cases where AI is implemented to ensure accuracy and efficiency, and will discontinue use in scenarios where AI is not effective." A Nov. 25 [2]tweet out of the Rapid City, South Dakota, office also had misspelled locations and the Google Gemini logo in its forecast. NWS did not confirm whether the Rapid City image was made with generative AI.
[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026/01/06/nws-ai-map-fake-names/
[2] https://x.com/NWSRapidCity/status/1993343706007847248?s=20
DOGE (Score:3)
Sounds like DOGE has been busy at the NWS.
Next up, golden rain for Imma A. Hole (Score:2)
and a nasty sprinkling of hail, aka frozen balls for DonaldTrumpIsInTheEpsteinFiles.
prompt (Score:3)
what was the question used to generate the map with fake towns?
Re: (Score:1)
"Make me a map using more energy, water, and resources than you need to."
Re: (Score:2)
"With or without cryptobro and AI datacenters providing negative community value sucking down vast amounts of water and power while generating negligible profits and lacking a business plan to sustain themselves?"
Is stale map data an issue at the NWS? (Score:2)
I know ghost towns are a thing and areas may grow from time to time, but how often are maps out of date when it comes to the existence of cites and towns? Certainly any map from 5 years ago (prior to AI slop) is still accurate today as to where and what communities exist in any state, so not seeing why they need to "consult" an AI to generate a new map to begin with.
Re: (Score:2)
For a while, ChatGPT would make maps if you asked nicely. It was a short time of extreme hilarity, as it invented towns, had ships passing straight through continents, showed an "invasion"of Korea (by plotting objects in the wrong place), and invented completely new alphabets. It showed me icebergs on a map of Texas which was actually shaped like Mexico.
They seem to have adjusted and now only show the lon/lat coordinates of certain events, not even attempting to plot them on an actual map.
Foresooth the
more DOGE nonsense (Score:4, Informative)
Trump and Musk believed they could replace most of the government with AI and this is the result.
Re: (Score:2)
The problem is the human filter bubbles and sense of entitlement around billionaires, especially moronic, drug addict billionaires encourage them to do worse than Marcus Licinius Crassus. These bozos have way, way too much money and power, and each and every one is a policy failure.
What if those towns exist in another dimension (Score:4, Funny)
Maybe the AI is so smart it's remembering information about towns that existed before out timeline went awry.
So how do we monetise this? (Score:2)
Presumably the towns in other timelines exist for a good reason. Our timeline has missed that reason, so those locations have something that hasn't been exploited... ;)
Re: (Score:1)
Quick - I'll get the shovel, you bring the explosives - we'll get those towns on the map.
Re: (Score:3)
It's bad OCR. I googled it. Orangeotild is Grangeville for example.
Re: (Score:2)
That's kind of odd, since OCR is one of the things neural networks do especially well.