When and how will AI change backpacking?
Artificial Intelligence. It’s in nearly everything these days, with no signs of slowing down. But not our hiking and backpacking, right? Think again.
Hikers and backpackers go out in the wild for the disconnected experience, to take in the transformational power of nature, to refocus and ground ourselves again without all the distractions of the modern world.
So how could AI possibly be part of all that?
A Brief History of Technical Revolutions
History has shown us that technology and industrial revolutions have been profoundly positive for nearly everyone in the world. Technology doesn’t discriminate. It finds it’s way into every facet of life on nearly every spec of earth. Let’s run through a quick history.
During the Neolithic Revolution around 12000 years ago, humans changed their way of life from nomadic hunter-gatherers to settled farmers, domesticating plants and animals, developing irrigation techniques, and advancing the use of a wheel.
The First Industrial Revolution, around the mid 1700s, transitioned us from using hand-made to machine-made tools and products. It introduced the steam engine and coal power. Factories and railroads were built. Travel-time to transport goods and materials was reduced to a fraction of what it previously took, expanding commerce farther and faster.
The Second Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s is often called the Technological Revolution. This was about speed and scale and introduced electricity, the internal combustion engine, and the telephone. It also gave us the assembly line. For backpackers, this was the beginning of the outdoor industry.
The Third Industrial Revolution was the Digital Revolution and it began in the 1950s. It gave us microcircuits, personal computers, and the Internet. It gave us GPS and Gore-Tex jackets. Technology centers transformed from long rows of computer cabinets in large buildings boosting up to 128K of memory to hand-held devices with multiple times the computer power. Technology was no longer fixed; it was mobile.
Today we’re into the Forth Industrial Revolution. AI, robotics, the Internet of Things, micro-drones, biotechnology, nano-circuitry – these things are turning technology from passive (something we take off the shelf and use) to active (something that anticipates and proactively informs us and even makes some of our decisions).
How Far We've Come
Where would we be without these technology advances? You wouldn’t be reading this on a computer screen. Your hiking adventures would be limited because you would have nothing more than primitive navigational tools. That is, if you even had time for such “non-contributing” activities.
Older hikers reading this now probably wouldn’t be alive because all this technology has increased life expectancy. Your short life would have been fully occupied with simply surviving the day.
Technology, in countless ways, has made life better. Of course, not in every case. The purist rarely moves forward and non-adopters don’t often look beyond the present. But most people these days enjoy living in a furnished house with electricity and running water. We sometimes overlook simple pleasures like driving a few minutes to a grocery store to get fresh vegetables all year around. It’s all because of technology changes and adaptation.
I wanted to make a point of all this because, as we enter into what is shaping up to be the most significantly impacting industrial revolution in human history, we need to learn from and build upon the past. Yet we need to be careful not to insulate ourselves from raw human experiences.
Let’s look at how AI will likely reshape our outdoor lifestyle over the coming years. And unlike other technology advances, older hikers may want to pay closer attention to this one because there are some short and long term benefits that may be especially beneficial to your safety, longevity, and accessibility.
Phase I: The Era of Personalized Preparation
In the short term, we should anticipate phone apps, that you already use, getting a lot smarter. Here are a few examples:
- Hyper-Personalized Route Planning: Instead of just searching for "moderate 5-mile hikes," AI will analyze data from your past pace, elevation preferences, your current physical routines, your overall physical condition, and your goals to suggest trails that are a perfect match for the hike you want to do today.
- Predictive Weather Models: Current forecasts are great, but AI-driven micro-climate modeling will give you high-accuracy predictions for specific ridges, valleys, or any place you want to be. This will help you decide on what clothing layers to pack. AI may even suggest what clothing layers you should bring.
- Gear Optimization: AI "concierges" will help you audit your pack weight, suggesting specific items to swap out based on the terrain and your body's needs based on your biometrics.
Phase II: Integration
This is where "Mental Wellness" and "Safety" really start to see a tech boost. Let’s look at a few things:
- Real-Time Biometric Coaching: Your watch won't just track your heart rate; an AI coach will monitor your gait and fatigue levels. It might say, "Hey David, your stride is shortening—take a 10-minute break and drink 8oz of water now to avoid a cramp in an hour." Safety reminders, preventing injury, saving your hike and maybe your life will be some of the benefits from biometric coaching.
- Instant Wilderness Education: Imagine pointing your phone or smart glasses at a plant, animal track, or a rock formation and getting an instant, conversational explanation of what you're seeing. It’s like having a naturalist in your pocket, a learning center.
- Smart Search and Rescue (SAR): Along with specific GPS coordinates, AI will analyze satellite imagery and heat maps to predict where a lost hiker is most likely to be, significantly shortening rescue times and saving lives.
Phase III: Transformation
Maybe a decade from now, the line between "tech" and "nature" might become a bit more blurred, but in ways that prioritizes the hiking experience.
- Augmented Reality (AR) Navigation: A lightweight pair of glasses could overlay a faint "digital breadcrumb" trail on the ground, making it nearly impossible to get lost, even in whiteout conditions. Difficult trail navigation becomes a seamless background feature. Trail markers or blazes on trees and rocks will slowly fade away.
- Adaptive Smart Clothing: Imagine a jacket with "active" fibers controlled by a tiny AI chip. It senses your body temperature, external humidity, wind, and temperature, then automatically opens or closes the fabric's "pores" to regulate heat. Sleeping bags could have the same tech. No more worries about bringing the right layers or the right sleeping system.
- Autonomous Logistics: For older hikers who want to experience remote areas but can't carry a 40lb pack anymore, may see small, autonomous "pack-mules" (think: high-tech, off-road versions of delivery robots). These things will carry the heavy gear or maybe drop of resupplies, allowing you to focus on the scenery and the experience.
Where do we go from here?
Many of us hikers are battling with current technology advances, wondering where it all will lead and how we should respond. The conversation has moved beyond "Should we use AI?" because it isn’t going away - to "How do we use it without losing the essence of our humanity and the experiences we go out in nature to enjoy?"
In the next article, I will give you my perspective on this struggle and where I believe we can find a mature balance.
But in the meantime, you can participate in the discussion. Instead of jumping too far ahead in the conversation with opinions about the glory or evil of it all, let’s put that aside for a minute to just imagine and dream a little. Tell me what new things you think will come out of this Forth Industrial Revolution for the hiking and backpacking community?
As always, go live like you want it.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/story/history-of-technology-timelinehttps://www.britannica.com/event/Industrial-Revolution
https://www.telefonica.com/en/communication-room/blog/9-technological-inventions-changed-world/
https://www.britannica.com/event/Industrial-Revolutionhttps://www.britannica.com/story/history-of-technology-timeline
