A world alarmed by climate change gets its first look on Friday at an AI chat bot that aims to cut through green waffle.
The National was given early access to ChatNetZero to test the beta version of a “potent fact-checking and anti-greenwashing tool”.
It puts thousands of glossy climate plans under an AI’s sceptical eye – and is blunt when it finds them wanting.
Unveiled during New York Climate Week, part of the preparations for Cop28 in Dubai, it is billed as more up to date and transparent than existing AI bots such as ChatGPT.
There is also an algorithm meant to avoid “hallucinations”, when an AI bot confidently states something as fact that is totally wrong or impossible.
The beta model has limitations too. Unlike ChatGPT, you can’t reply with a follow-up question, and the underlying data is so net zero-specific that the bot can lack context or veer into the jargon it is trying to cut through.
The large language model is trained on data from the Net Zero Tracker project and was developed by AI company Arboretica and research lab Data-Driven EnviroLab. A strapline says it is “helping to demystify net zero”.
Angel Hsu, the research lab’s founder and a contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said the app was a tool for investors and citizens putting green plans “under an ever-brighter spotlight”.
“We – the public, governments, civil society and businesses – need credible information to decipher who is doing what and doing it in a robust and meaningful way,” she said.
“That’s where ChatNetZero comes in. By providing a gateway to the world’s largest living database on the integrity of net zero commitments, we hope to increase transparency and, in turn, boost ambition and real action.”
We tried asking it some questions.
Climate basics
First, an easy answer about the UN’s top science panel that shows the key features of ChatNetZero.
It is concise, less than half as long as ChatGPT’s 469-word response to the same question.
In every line there is a link to a citation. On ChatGPT you just have to hope it is telling the truth.
And it is up to date: the final version of the latest IPCC report came out in March but ChatNetZero can quote accurately from it.
Unlike ChatGPT, you don’t see ChatNetZero typing out its answer word by word. You do, though, see it “checking sources”, “generating answer” and finally “checking hallucination”.
Without follow-up questions you don't get a complete chatbot experience like with ChatGPT or Bard. ChatNetZero sticks to facts and references and there is none of the interplay that can make some AI bots feel eerily human. For an app designed to get to the point, that is no bad thing.
Fact-checking
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had fact-checkers scrambling to their desks on Wednesday in a speech in which he postponed some of Britain’s green commitments.
Mr Sunak said Britain was ahead of its fellow G7 countries in its real and planned emissions cuts.
ChatNetZero backs him up in this answer and gives specific figures.
That said, it doesn’t recognise the term G7, which isn't climate specific, so you have to tell it exactly which countries you mean. It’s an example of how artificial “general intelligence” is still a thing of science fiction.
On another of Mr Sunak’s claims, ChatNetZero misread the question and repeated its previous answer. Developers say the beta release can struggle when more than five entities, in this case countries, are named.
Corporate plans
This is where ChatNetZero is in its element, sifting through climate plans from the world’s 2,000 biggest publicly listed companies by revenue. It also claims to cover every city of more than 500,000 people.
Although it ducks subjective questions like whether a company has a “good” climate plan, it is confident enough to give a clear-cut answer here. A Google search takes much longer to find this information.
There is advice to policymakers, too, for example on how cities and regional governments can set net zero targets even if they do not control all the utility grids flowing through their territory.
Hallucinations
Arboretica co-founder James Zhang says ChatNetZero users can have “confidence in the veracity of its responses”. A future release will connect the app to live information online.
We did find one mistake, though.
Was Benin decades ahead of its time? No, this answer is way off the mark. To be fair, though, it seems to arise from a mishap in the underlying data that ChatNetZero is merely regurgitating.
At least the citation lets us make that check ourselves.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
WHEN TO GO:
September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.
WHERE TO STAY:
Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari - Chitwan National Park resort (tajhotels.com) is a one-hour drive from Bharatpur Airport with stays costing from Dh1,396 per night, including taxes and breakfast. Return airport transfers cost from Dh661.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Etihad Airways regularly flies from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu from around Dh1,500 per person return, including taxes. Buddha Air (buddhaair.com) and Yeti Airlines (yetiairlines.com) fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur several times a day from about Dh660 return and the flight takes just 20 minutes. Driving is possible but the roads are hilly which means it will take you five or six hours to travel 148 kilometres.
The finalists
Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
Tenet
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Rating: 5/5
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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ABU%20DHABI%20CARD
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
