How Will Artificial Intelligence Change Big Game Hunting?

The world is changing quickly because of artificial intelligence (AI). If you’re wondering if it’s going to change hunting, you’re too late—it already has.

Machines that think like humans have been around for years. If you use a computer, then you use AI. It filters spam in your email, organizes the photos on your phone, determines which ads you see on social media, and can even read medical imaging like CT scans to detect cancer.

How does AI work? In basic terms, AI is a computer that can learn from examples, just like how we learn to recognize faces over our lifetime. The computer can then use what it learned to make informed guesses about new things it sees, helping it do tasks that usually need human thinking, like understanding speech (voice assistant apps) and predicting what we want to buy (ads).

AI evolves rapidly and it’s changing everything, including hunting. To find out how AI might influence and change hunting, I asked both humans and two different AI platforms. Here’s what they had to say.

Hunt Planning and the Virtual Guide

AI will tell you where to hunt. It’s that simple. Today, some of us pay a fee to a tag application service or spend evenings building spreadsheets and analyzing draw odds based on factors like points and tag allocations. As AI evolves, it’s going to get very good at telling us where we should apply based on the information we provide. For instance, I asked AI where a nonresident should hunt elk in Colorado with a rifle that gives a good chance of drawing a tag with relatively few hunters. It provided a handful of national forest options. It then provided resources to narrow down the areas even more. I asked AI where I should hunt within a certain county, and it recommended a couple of different drainages.

This also creates a problem, says Andrew McKean, hunting editor for Outdoor Life. “Does AI’s data tell everyone the same thing, and then we all go to one place?” That’s very possible. Another problem McKean points out is “AI hallucinations,” which refers to AI’s tendency to produce false or misleading answers. It’s akin to having an overconfident uncle who always has an answer to every question, regardless of his knowledge of the subject. My 11-year-old is the same way. AI might give you a good place to start, but you always have to double-check its accuracy.

Once in the field, AI will provide real-time hunt strategies, much like a human guide. According to AI, “It will analyze terrain, weather, historical data, and animal behavior patterns, to develop optimal hunting strategies and plans. This can help hunters maximize their chances of success while minimizing the environmental impact and ensuring ethical hunting practices.” That’s straight from the chatbot's mouth, and I tend to believe it—except for the part about ethics. More on that in a bit.

Hunt Regulations

One barrier to new hunters is the intricate and complicated nature of hunting regulations. Each state manages its wildlife and hunters differently, and each state has a unique set of rules and regulations. If you’re new to hunting or a particular state, these regs can be more than off-putting; they can be so frustrating that people just give up. Enter AI.

The International Hunter Education Association (IHEA) has recently launched a digital assistant they call Scout. Using this program on your phone, enter the state where you’re hunting, and ask Scout a question like what are the season dates or bag limits. Scout will answer your questions, but again, you need to consult the actual regulations to be sure. Fortunately, Scout will provide your state’s hunting regualtions and even the page references to double-check the regs.

Tracking, Monitoring, and Predicting

In the old days before AI, hunters spent season after season patterning herds of big game. That knowledge was passed down through generations. Today, trail cameras upload images to cell phones. Soon those images will load into AI programs that will gather enough data to identify patterns and predict animal movements in real time. With enough knowledge, all you need to do is input the location, and AI will tell you when to hunt it. Conversely, input the days you have to hunt, and AI will tell you where to go.

For those into trophy-sized game, trail cameras will have programs that can score accurately (within 2-3 points) the antlers and horns of animals passing by. In fact, some of that technology already exists.

When used for legitimate conservation purposes, this kind of intelligence isn’t a bad thing. It can tell us how wildlife uses the landscape. For instance, AI can teach us what would happen to migration routes if a proposed subdivision gets built. AI can tell us where to build highways for the least impact. Game managers already use population models to establish season bag limits and tag allocations based on the best available data. AI takes this a step further by sourcing even more information.

Ballistics

AI’s integration into electronics like digital scopes, binoculars, phones, and even eyewear is already changing the nature of hunting. When a hunter plugs in the wind speed, elevation, temperature, muzzle velocity, and myriad other variables into a program on their phone, AI calculates zero using a series of algorithms based on its knowledge of what those variables do to the bullet’s trajectory. It doesn’t predict how much you will flinch, nor does it know the exact wind speed downrange at the target. AI can’t take human imperfections entirely out of hunting.

At the same time, someone smarter than me will create a digital shooting assistant that will serve as a shooting coach. There is nothing stopping AI from learning how you shoot, analyzing your form through video recognition software, and creating a personal shooting plan based on your flaws.

Fair Chase?

Boone and Crockett Club founding member Theodore Roosevelt couldn’t have envisioned AI-augmented reality eyewear that would see and indicate game that the human eye might not pick up. Nor would he have imagined thermal imaging scopes or digital assistant guides telling us where, when, and how to hunt through an earpiece while we’re in the field. But that’s our reality today.

The Club has a position statement on technology and hunting, but it doesn’t mention AI specifically. What it does say is that the “Club supports the use of legal technology to the extent it does not take an unfair advantage over the animal.” That leaves room for interpretation—and that’s on purpose. It really boils down to what you want out of a hunt. Hunting regulations cannot keep pace with technology, and that’s where Fair Chase principles are paramount.

Boiled down to its basics, a Fair Chase hunt “does not give the hunter an improper or unfair advantage over the game animals.” Do you interpret that to mean you shouldn’t wear the latest digital camo pattern? What does it mean when AI maps out your hunt for you or creates a list of gear you’ll need? How about using an app that tells you which direction to hunt based on prevailing wind direction and thermals? How much do you want to hunt and how much do you want to look at your phone? These are questions that only a hunter can answer for themselves.

To be clear, not all AI is bad for hunting. AI can also be used to help managers pinpoint and prioritize the best place to conserve wildlife habitat. Where should they ignite prescribed fire to get the biggest bang for their buck? Where should they treat a hillside to best contain a noxious weed infestation? AI can tell them, and it will do so with more frequency and accuracy as it evolves. Additionally, non-profit conservation groups can train AI to tell them what demographic they aren’t reaching. AI can also tell them where they're missing out on potential donors.

AI, like any new technology, is a double-edged sword. We create these machines to think like humans, but are we smart enough to recognize the point at which machines take over our hunts and our lives? As AI continues to evolve, we will face increasingly complex decisions about how much technology to incorporate into our hunts. While AI offers undeniable benefits in terms of efficiency and safety, it also challenges us to consider why we hunt. The future of hunting will involve a delicate balance between embracing innovation and preserving the core values of Fair Chase, woodsmanship, and our connection to the natural world. Ultimately, it will be up to individual hunters, wildlife managers, and organizations like Boone and Crockett to navigate this new frontier, ensuring that hunting remains an ethical pastime in an AI-enhanced world.