AI, ChatGPT and social media could worsen the climate crisis, researchers claim. (representative)
New Delhi:
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) and social media, including large-scale language models like OpenAI's ChatGPT, could undermine efforts to combat climate change, researchers said Friday in the journal Global Environment. In a new forum article published in 'Politics'.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have found that AI, social media, and other technology products and platforms can have a neutral or potentially net impact on climate action. pointed out that this is a general concept.
Furthermore, they can reduce human creative thinking and problem-solving abilities that are essential to tackling climate change.
Additionally, these platforms can distract from pressing global issues and foster feelings of hopelessness.
Dr Hamish van der Ven, assistant professor of sustainable business management of natural resources at UBC, said: “These technologies are influencing human behavior and social dynamics and shaping attitudes and responses to climate change. ” states.
He pointed out that AI and social technologies could diminish our focus on the climate crisis by constantly providing “new and ever-changing content.”
“Repeated exposure to negative news on social media can undermine optimism and increase feelings of hopelessness, all of which impede organizing and collective action on climate change,” he said. “This is a possibility,” he said, calling for a careful review of generative AI.
Dr van der Ven pointed out that increased reliance on these technologies could reduce the “capacity for creativity and forward-thinking solutions”.
Both social media and AI are also known to contribute to the spread of misinformation and biased information, which can hinder us from taking action on climate change.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
