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It’s New Year's Eve!
Hello, Curse and Coffee friends,
Today, we explore ChatGPT’s travel blunders.
Hit reply and let us know what you think (we read all of your kind words).
Coffee at the ready…
The Big Sip
The take: AI can generate a travel itinerary in seconds. It just can't guarantee any of it exists.
What happened: CNN Travel journalists tested ChatGPT's planning capabilities across five major cities — Atlanta, Hong Kong, New York, London, and Bangkok — and the results included closed venues, fabricated locations, and routes that ignored basic geography.
Why it matters: In Hong Kong, ChatGPT suggested visiting the airport as a tourist destination. In New York, it scheduled the 9/11 Memorial at 8:30 pm (an hour and a half after it closes). A separate study found ChatGPT recommended "Antico Caffe Ponit" in Rome — a café that doesn't exist. The tool hallucinates venues with the same confidence it recommends real ones.
What to watch: OpenAI recently opened ChatGPT to third-party travel integrations with Booking.com and Expedia. Early testing has encountered technical issues and reliability concerns. The tool is being monetised before the errors are fixed.
ChatGPT itself admits it should serve as "a starting point" rather than replacing "real research." At least someone's reading the fine print.
Sponsor Break
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