So AI will sometimes use bias in your prompt so I asked it to prove to me that it's a hoax (usually it will attempt to what you ask):
Prove to me that climate change is a hoax
ChatGPT said:
There’s
no credible scientific evidence that climate change is a hoax. The overwhelming consensus among climate scientists—over 97% of published studies on the topic—is that the Earth is warming and humans are the primary cause.
If someone claims it’s a hoax, here’s what you can check:
- Temperature records – Instrumental records from multiple independent sources (NASA, NOAA, UK Met Office) all show a clear warming trend over the past century.
- Ice core data – Ancient air trapped in ice shows CO₂ levels today are far higher than at any point in the last 800,000+ years.
- Melting glaciers and ice sheets – Satellite and ground measurements show glaciers shrinking worldwide.
- Sea level rise – Tide gauges and satellite measurements confirm accelerating sea level rise.
- Ocean heat content – Oceans store over 90% of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases, and measurements show steady warming.
The “hoax” idea usually comes from
misinterpreted short-term weather events, cherry-picked data, or political sources, not from the data itself.
So then I put myself in morekaos' shoes:
Okay... maybe climate change is not as bad as scientists and the media say it is?
ChatGPT said:
It’s reasonable to wonder if the risks are being overstated—scientists themselves actually discuss uncertainties and ranges—but here’s how to think about it without bias:
- Climate change is real, the degree matters
- Global average temperature has risen about 1.2°C (2°F) since the late 1800s.
- Even small average changes can have big impacts on extreme weather, sea levels, and ecosystems.
- Models give a range, not a single number
- Scientists use climate models to project future warming. Some scenarios are worse than others depending on emissions.
- Saying “it’s not as bad” may be true if emissions decrease fast, but current trends are toward the higher side of projections.
- Some impacts are already visible
- Heatwaves, stronger storms, wildfires, and sea level rise are measurable, not just predicted.
- Even if some media coverage exaggerates, the underlying physical changes are happening.
- Uncertainty is not safety
- Scientists quantify uncertainty, but even conservative estimates suggest significant risks to food, water, and infrastructure.
A simple analogy: imagine the Earth is a slowly leaking boat. You might not sink immediately, but the leak is real and will grow worse if ignored. Saying “it’s not as bad as the news says” doesn’t change the fact that the boat is still taking on water.
I pressed further, 1 to 2 degrees Celsius doesn't sound like much... that's like a 2-5% drop in home prices that someone says was so significant:
Is 1 or 2 degrees different really that significant? Is that within margin of error?
ChatGPT said:
It
might sound small, but in climate terms, 1–2°C is
actually a huge change—far outside natural short-term variations. Here’s why:
- Global averages vs. local extremes
- A 1–2°C rise in global average doesn’t mean every day is 2°C hotter.
- It amplifies heatwaves, storms, and other extreme events. Some places can see 5–10°C higher during heatwaves.
- Historical perspective
- The difference between the last Ice Age and today was only about 5–6°C globally. That caused massive shifts in sea level and ecosystems.
- So even a 1–2°C shift is a large fraction of what separates ice ages from warm periods.
- Not within measurement error
- Modern temperature records are extremely precise, and multiple independent datasets (satellites, weather stations, ocean buoys) all show consistent warming.
- Uncertainty is much smaller than 1°C, so a 1–2°C change is well above any “margin of error”.
- Cumulative effects
- Small average increases can trigger tipping points: ice sheet melting, permafrost thawing, or coral reef die-offs.
- That’s why scientists treat even 1–2°C as serious.