By AFP
April 4, 2025
Climate contrarians falsely claim a paper written by artificial intelligence chatbot Grok debunks the science on climate change - Copyright AFP Lionel BONAVENTURE
Manon JACOB
Climate change deniers are pushing an AI-generated paper questioning human-induced warming, leading experts to warn against the rise of research that is inherently flawed but marketed as neutral and scrupulously logical.
The paper rejects climate models on human-induced global warming and has been widely cited on social media as being the first “peer-reviewed” research led by artificial intelligence (AI) on the topic.
Titled “A Critical Reassessment of the Anthropogenic CO2-Global Warming Hypothesis,” it contains references contested by the scientific community, according to experts interviewed by AFP.
Computational and ethics researchers also cautioned against claims of neutrality in papers that use AI as an author.
The new study — which claims to be entirely written by Elon Musk’s Grok 3 AI — has gained traction online, with a blog post by Covid-19 contrarian Robert Malone promoting it gathering more than a million views.
“After the debacle of man-made climate change and the corruption of evidence-based medicine by big pharma, the use of AI for government-funded research will become normalized, and standards will be developed for its use in peer-reviewed journals,” Malone wrote.
There is overwhelming scientific consensus linking fossil fuel combustion to rising global temperatures and increasingly severe weather disasters.
– Illusion of objectivity –
Academics have warned that the surge of AI in research, despite potential benefits, risks triggering an illusion of objectivity and insight in scientific research.
“Large language models do not have the capacity to reason. They are statistical models predicting future words or phrases based on what they have been trained on. This is not research,” argued Mark Neff, an environmental sciences professor.
The paper says Grok 3 “wrote the entire manuscript,” with input from co-authors who “played a crucial role in guiding its development.”
Among the co-authors was astrophysicist Willie Soon -– a climate contrarian known to have received more than a million dollars in funding from the fossil fuel industry over the years.
Scientifically contested papers by physicist Hermann Harde and Soon himself were used as references for the AI’s analysis.
Microbiologist Elisabeth Bik, who tracks scientific malpractice, remarked the paper did not describe how it was written: “It includes datasets that formed the basis of the paper, but no prompts,” she noted. “We know nothing about how the authors asked the AI to analyze the data.”
Ashwinee Panda, a postdoctoral fellow on AI safety at the University of Maryland, said the claim that Grok 3 wrote the paper created a veneer of objectivity that was unverifiable.
“Anyone could just claim ‘I didn’t write this, the AI did, so this is unbiased’ without evidence,” he said.
– Opaque review process –
Neither the journal nor its publisher –- which seems to publish only one journal –- appear to be members of the Committee of Publication Ethics.
The paper acknowledges “the careful edits provided by a reviewer and the editor-in-chief,” identified on its website as Harde.
It does not specify whether it underwent open, single-, or double-blind review and was submitted and published within just 12 days.
“That an AI would effectively plagiarize nonsense papers,” does not come as a surprise to NASA’s top climate scientist Gavin Schmidt, but “this retread has just as little credibility,” he told AFP.
AFP reached out to the authors of the paper for further comment on the review process, but did not receive an immediate response.
“The use of AI is just the latest ploy, to make this seem as if it is a new argument, rather than an old, false one,” Naomi Oreskes, a science historian at Harvard University, told AFP.
German industry grapples with AI at trade fair
An important step, Segedi said, will be convincing labour unions to not “see AI as a threat but as something that can contribute to their ideas”.
By AFP
April 5, 2025
A man interacts with humanoid robot at the booth of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research during the opening of the Hannover Messe - Copyright AFP/File RONNY HARTMANN
A man interacts with humanoid robot at the booth of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research during the opening of the Hannover Messe - Copyright AFP/File RONNY HARTMANN
Clement KASSER
Artificial intelligence is set to bring sweeping change to modern life, but at an industrial fair in Germany many companies wonder how they fit into the tech revolution.
“We use ChatGPT a bit,” shrugged one business representative, from a metals processor based in southern Germany, at this week’s Hannover Messe.
The expo grouping 4,000 firms promised visitors ways to “experience the future” and explore AI’s “practical applications in areas such as production, robotics and energy, all at their own pace”.
One eye-catching display — a gigantic Rolls-Royce aircraft engine whose production was optimised by AI from Microsoft and German company Siemens — drew many curious onlookers.
But on the sidelines, the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are the backbone of Germany’s economy — the so-called Mittelstand — often had less to say on the subject.
Andrea Raaf of Herz Aetztechnik, which uses lasers to make vehicle and electronics parts, said AI was not up to the job.
“The parts we manufacture are very individual, so we can’t really see the point of AI,” she told AFP.
Others have been more engaged, including family-owned Koerner Electric, which said it has been using AI for the past three years.
Standing in front of custom-built circuit boards, its technical director Dennis Koerner said AI had helped with the manufacturing process and to analyse optical and electrical measurements.
“We have written a small AI with which we can generate programming much faster,” said Koerner.
“It was necessary to get faster and more stable results without needing several employees for the job.”
– Lagging behind –
Once a byword for high technology, German industry knows that it is lagging behind US and Chinese competition when it comes to the digital technologies that will dominate the next century.
Many German firms remain unsure how to use the rapidly evolving technology in the kind of high-end engineering they specialise in.
“It’s important not to shy away from introducing AI,” said Agnes Heftberger, managing director of Microsoft Germany. “Otherwise Germany will find itself lagging behind in the face of international competition.”
Also featured at the fair were so-called “AI agents”, systems which autonomously perform tasks from writing code to assisting with conversations.
Microsoft offers systems to put machine data into simple language and identify maintenance needs in advance.
But Loke Olsen, an automation engineer at Confirm A/S, a Danish subcontractor to the pharmaceutical industry, was somewhat sceptical about AI’s potential errors and ability to correct itself.
“We have to be sure that AI works 100 percent because we have to comply with very strict health regulations,” he told AFP.
For some, cost is an issue. Koerner said that it seems like “we can hardly afford” some of the AI products being showcased at the fair.
– ‘Game changer’ –
Almost half of German industrial firms use AI for some business functions, a Microsoft survey found, but most are far more reluctant to use it to develop their products.
Only seven percent of machine builders plan to adopt generative AI to help with product design, said a study by the machinists’ association VDMA.
“There are some initial attempts, but investment is still too low,” said Guido Reimann, VDMA’s deputy managing director of software and digitalisation.
The study found that GenAI, by optimising efficiency and boosting sales, could raise the sector’s annual profits by many billions of euros.
But although 52 percent of managers saw AI as a potential “game changer”, it said, “its use has so far often been limited to experimental or proof-of-concept projects”.
The top concerns listed were a lack of data quality, shortages of AI specialists and technical challenges.
Germany’s Fraunhofer research institute has been touring Germany since 2023, showing manufacturers concrete AI applications from carpentry to healthcare.
“It often helps to network smaller companies with each other because AI always works with data,” said institute spokeswoman Juliane Segedi.
“The more data you have, the better an AI can become. And if you have a similar problem that needs to be solved, you can pool the data to come up with a solution that is good for everyone.”
Other challenges remain. Many people fear AI will one day steal their job.
An important step, Segedi said, will be convincing labour unions to not “see AI as a threat but as something that can contribute to their ideas”.
AI coming for anime but Ghibli’s Miyazaki irreplaceable, son says
By AFP
April 2, 2025
Artificial intelligence could one day replace Japanese anime artists, Studio Ghibli's Goro Miyazaki predicted - Copyright AFP Kazuhiro NOGI
Natsuko FUKUE
Artificial intelligence risks taking Japanese anime artists’ jobs but nothing can replicate Hayao Miyazaki, the creative lifeblood of the studio behind classics such as “Spirited Away”, his son told AFP.
Thanks to ChatGPT’s new image generator, the internet is awash with pictures imitating Studio Ghibli’s whimsical style, raising fresh debate over potential copyright infringements.
Movies such as “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Howl’s Moving Castle” are famous for their lush nature and fantastical machinery, painstakingly drawn by hand.
While the studio has not commented directly on the image trend, Goro Miyazaki, 58, predicted that artificial intelligence could one day replace animators.
“It wouldn’t be surprising if, in two years’ time, there was a film made completely through AI,” he said in an interview last week.
But whether audiences would want to watch a fully AI-generated animation is another matter, he added.
Despite the rapid changes, new technology also brings “great potential for unexpected talent to emerge”, added Goro, Studio Ghibli’s managing director.
He was speaking at the Ghibli atelier in western Tokyo, days before the San Francisco-based ChatGPT maker OpenAI released its latest image generator.
OpenAI, which is already facing a barrage of copyright lawsuits, said generating images in the style of individual living artists is banned, but “we do permit broader studio styles”.
“Our goal is to give users as much creative freedom as possible,” the US company said.
– Bittersweet –
Japan is grappling with a shortage of skilled animators, partly because most spend years in low-paid jobs to learn the ropes.
Digitally savvy Gen Z may be also less enthusiastic about the manual labour involved, Goro said.
“Nowadays, the world is full of opportunities to watch anything, anytime, anywhere,” making it harder to imagine making a living from the physical act of drawing, he added.
Goro’s father founded Studio Ghibli with Isao Takahata in 1985, a year after directing the post-apocalyptic “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”.
After Takahata’s death in 2018, Hayao — now 84 and a heavy smoker — continued to create films with 76-year-old producer Toshio Suzuki.
“If those two can’t make anime or can’t move, then what happens?” Goro said when asked about Ghibli’s future.
“It’s not like they can be replaced.”
Despite his age, Hayao won his second Oscar last year with “The Boy and the Heron” — likely his last feature film.
Anime cartoons are usually for children, but Takahata and Hayao, men “from the generation that knew war”, included darker elements that appeal to adults, Goro said.
“It’s not all sweet — there’s also a bitterness and things like that which are beautifully intertwined in the work,” he said, describing a “smell of death” that permeates the films.
“That’s actually what makes the work so deep.”
For younger people who grew up in peacetime, “it is impossible to create something with the same sense, approach and attitude that my father’s generation had,” Goro said.
Even “Totoro”, with its cuddly forest spirit creatures, is in some ways a “scary” movie that explores the fear of losing a sick mother, he explained.
– ‘Insult to life’ –
As the Ghibli-style AI images proliferated, a 2016 video of Hayao resurfaced that many said showed his disdain for the technology.
“I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself,” the director says in the short clip, taken from a documentary.
However, he was in fact reacting to an AI-assisted computer graphic of a zombie-like creature, which he calls “extremely unpleasant” in the full footage.
Goro joined Studio Ghibli in 1998 and directed animations including the 2006 feature “Tales from Earthsea” and 2011’s “From Up on Poppy Hill”.
He also oversaw the development of the Ghibli Museum and newly opened Ghibli Park in Japan.
Goro enjoyed drawing as a boy and said he learned a lot watching his father’s and Takahata’s work, although he didn’t think he could live up to their talent.
“My mother, who was also an animator, told me not to pursue this career because it’s a tough and busy job,” Goro said, adding that his father was rarely at home.
“But I always wanted to do something creative.”
By AFP
April 2, 2025
Artificial intelligence could one day replace Japanese anime artists, Studio Ghibli's Goro Miyazaki predicted - Copyright AFP Kazuhiro NOGI
Natsuko FUKUE
Artificial intelligence risks taking Japanese anime artists’ jobs but nothing can replicate Hayao Miyazaki, the creative lifeblood of the studio behind classics such as “Spirited Away”, his son told AFP.
Thanks to ChatGPT’s new image generator, the internet is awash with pictures imitating Studio Ghibli’s whimsical style, raising fresh debate over potential copyright infringements.
Movies such as “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Howl’s Moving Castle” are famous for their lush nature and fantastical machinery, painstakingly drawn by hand.
While the studio has not commented directly on the image trend, Goro Miyazaki, 58, predicted that artificial intelligence could one day replace animators.
“It wouldn’t be surprising if, in two years’ time, there was a film made completely through AI,” he said in an interview last week.
But whether audiences would want to watch a fully AI-generated animation is another matter, he added.
Despite the rapid changes, new technology also brings “great potential for unexpected talent to emerge”, added Goro, Studio Ghibli’s managing director.
He was speaking at the Ghibli atelier in western Tokyo, days before the San Francisco-based ChatGPT maker OpenAI released its latest image generator.
OpenAI, which is already facing a barrage of copyright lawsuits, said generating images in the style of individual living artists is banned, but “we do permit broader studio styles”.
“Our goal is to give users as much creative freedom as possible,” the US company said.
– Bittersweet –
Japan is grappling with a shortage of skilled animators, partly because most spend years in low-paid jobs to learn the ropes.
Digitally savvy Gen Z may be also less enthusiastic about the manual labour involved, Goro said.
“Nowadays, the world is full of opportunities to watch anything, anytime, anywhere,” making it harder to imagine making a living from the physical act of drawing, he added.
Goro’s father founded Studio Ghibli with Isao Takahata in 1985, a year after directing the post-apocalyptic “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”.
After Takahata’s death in 2018, Hayao — now 84 and a heavy smoker — continued to create films with 76-year-old producer Toshio Suzuki.
“If those two can’t make anime or can’t move, then what happens?” Goro said when asked about Ghibli’s future.
“It’s not like they can be replaced.”
Despite his age, Hayao won his second Oscar last year with “The Boy and the Heron” — likely his last feature film.
Anime cartoons are usually for children, but Takahata and Hayao, men “from the generation that knew war”, included darker elements that appeal to adults, Goro said.
“It’s not all sweet — there’s also a bitterness and things like that which are beautifully intertwined in the work,” he said, describing a “smell of death” that permeates the films.
“That’s actually what makes the work so deep.”
For younger people who grew up in peacetime, “it is impossible to create something with the same sense, approach and attitude that my father’s generation had,” Goro said.
Even “Totoro”, with its cuddly forest spirit creatures, is in some ways a “scary” movie that explores the fear of losing a sick mother, he explained.
– ‘Insult to life’ –
As the Ghibli-style AI images proliferated, a 2016 video of Hayao resurfaced that many said showed his disdain for the technology.
“I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself,” the director says in the short clip, taken from a documentary.
However, he was in fact reacting to an AI-assisted computer graphic of a zombie-like creature, which he calls “extremely unpleasant” in the full footage.
Goro joined Studio Ghibli in 1998 and directed animations including the 2006 feature “Tales from Earthsea” and 2011’s “From Up on Poppy Hill”.
He also oversaw the development of the Ghibli Museum and newly opened Ghibli Park in Japan.
Goro enjoyed drawing as a boy and said he learned a lot watching his father’s and Takahata’s work, although he didn’t think he could live up to their talent.
“My mother, who was also an animator, told me not to pursue this career because it’s a tough and busy job,” Goro said, adding that his father was rarely at home.
“But I always wanted to do something creative.”
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