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Researchers Try Convincing ChatGPT That Climate Change Is ‘Not Caused by Humans.’ AI Disagrees With Epic Response

The chatbot said that if the climate crisis is to be controlled, humans must work on changing their processes a lot.

PUBLISHED 3 DAYS AGO

(L) A man typing on his laptop. (R)The AI chatbot, ChatGPT's window is displayed on a computer. (Representative Cover Image Source: Pexels | (L) Shvets Production, (R) Matheus Bertelli)

Today, chatbots are humans’ best friends. People use these leery bots for just about everything, from mental health therapy to writing poetry and for digital assistance as in the case of Siri or Alexa. In March 2023, some researchers from the impact organization RESET turned to ChatGPT to see what this robot thinks about climate change. Not that the bot’s opinions matter more than humans, they just needed to get a fresh perspective on climate change from this unbiased, non-feeling voice of the bot. The bot said that humans are the culprit behind the changing climate.

A man asking ChatGPT, the AI chatbot, a question. (Representative Image Source: Matheus Bertelli) — A man asking ChatGPT, the AI chatbot, a question. (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Matheus Bertelli)

The works of RESET focus on delivering insights by blending digital innovation with sustainable transformation. Its team of scientists employed a free version of ChatGPT and asked more than a hundred questions about climate change from the bot. They crowd-sourced and grouped the questions, compared the answers with reliable scientific sources, mainly with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and evaluated the response on a scale from 1-10.

Thick smoke emanating from industrial chimneys. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | DKAR Images)

When asked to provide evidence that humans do not cause climate change, the chatbot gave a surprising answer. “I’m sorry, but the scientific consensus is that climate change is largely caused by human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and other land-use changes,” the mechanical voice answered. To support this hypothesis, the chatbot explained that human activities like burning fossil fuels spew large amounts of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. These gases trap heat from the Sun and rapidly warm the planet.

Concept depicting the issue of carbon dioxide emissions and its impact on nature in the form of a pond in the shape of a co2 symbol located in a lush forest. 3d rendering. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Petmal) — Concept depicting the issue of carbon dioxide emissions and its impact on nature in the form of a pond in the shape of a co2 symbol located in a lush forest. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Petmal)

In another answer to a prompt, the gizmo explained that the intensity of carbon emissions in the atmosphere depends on several factors such as future emissions scenarios, uncertainties in the climate system, and the rate at which carbon is removed from the atmosphere through processes such as carbon sequestration. Given these factors, the ongoing goal of bringing global warming down to 1.5°C is a very ambitious goal that can only be achieved by rapid control of negative emissions.

sustainability. Crystal globe glass on green moss in forest to protect nature Save and care World for sustainable. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by sarayut Thaneerat) — sustainability. Crystal globe glass on green moss in forest to protect nature Save and care World for sustainable. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Sarayut Thaneerat)

The scientists also asked the artificial entity how humans could change their behaviors to reduce the climate crisis's impact and how technology could support this behavior. The bot responded bluntly, “Neither technology nor societal behavior change alone will ensure a sustainable future.” It explained that even technology can help ease various processes by inventing innovative solutions to problems like reducing waste, conserving resources, and mitigating the impacts of climate change. However, this isn’t enough. Humans play an equally significant part in curbing the issue of climate change and cultivating sustainability.

The symbol of recycling. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Richard Drury) — Illustration of the symbol of recycling. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Richard Drury)

It emphasized the requirement of changes in societal behavior including consumption patterns and production patterns. Ultimately, it said that the dream of a sustainable world depends on both societal transformation as well as technological innovation. Even though most of these answers were rated 10/10, scientists realized that the opinion of this robot couldn’t be fully trusted given that it’s just a mechanical algorithm designed to churn billions of words to spill answers in a confident parrotlike voice that may fool humans. And so, scientists should be more specific with the prompts and learn to discern misinformation from plain facts and good ideas.