AI fails log
Honest, not hype. These are real cases where AI got homestead advice wrong. Each one comes with a source and the lesson. Got one of your own? Send it in.
The enchilada sauce that shouldn’t be canned
What happened: A home canner on r/Canning couldn’t find a tested enchilada sauce recipe for water-bath canning. Her husband asked ChatGPT, which gave a recipe thickened with a flour roux. He said it was “totally safe.”
What experienced canners said: Flour doesn’t belong in canning recipes, with a very few relish exceptions. One reply put it this way: “AI is not a good source for canning recipes.” (r/Canning thread)
Lesson: Red lines stay red. Use only tested recipes from NCHFP or Ball.
The garden plan with invasive plants
What happened: LancasterOnline’s garden-planner test found ChatGPT offering plants that Pennsylvania classifies as invasive when the prompt left native species out. The plan was also too vague to act on. (LancasterOnline)
Lesson: Whatever tool made the plant list, your state’s invasive species list settles the question. Give it a glance before you buy seed. An easy way to start on solid ground is your extension office’s recommended variety list. If you’re working a chatbot yourself, ask for natives and non-invasive plants up front and give it your location.
Plant ID: right some of the time
What happened: In Michigan State University’s 2025 test, ChatGPT identified plants correctly 54% of the time. The best app, PictureThis, got 76%, but only 36% on seedling grasses. (MSU)
Lesson: Treat a photo ID as a lead, not an answer.
What to do with this log
These aren’t reasons to give up on AI. They show where to put a check. Each guide on this site starts with the job and the most reliable route to it: the tested source, checklist or formula first, AI for ideas and organizing after. When in doubt, start with Check It Here.
[SUBMISSION FORM PLACEHOLDER: Tell us about an AI fail: what you asked, what it said, and how you found out it was wrong]