When I went through my inbox this morning, I came across a fairly innocuous email: ‘Polestar puts spotlight on climate disinformation and misinformation ahead of COP28’. Fair enough, I think; Polestar’s a company where a big part of the sales pitch is caring about the environment, with only electric cars for sale, and proactivity with its sustainability goals – I like Polestar a lot. What wasn’t mentioned in the subject line was that Polestar’s spotlight involves a Twitter (X) bot, built to “help debunk the most common inaccuracies relating to climate change within the automotive industry”.
Good idea! It’s giving Microsoft Tay, but it’s a nice concept, or at the very least, Polestar’s heart is in the right place. The company cites a study from Climate Action Against Disinformation which claims that, compared to any other social media platform, Twitter ranks the lowest on preventing the spread of climate misinformation.
“The deliberate misuse of climate data is incredibly damaging. Particularly now, in the lead-up to COP28, the conversation is muddied between fact and fiction,” Polestar head of sustainability Fredrika Klarén said.
“We believe that the opposite – a truthful use of scientific data – can be a powerful tool to help navigate climate action, and we encourage everyone to join us in spreading this on social platforms.”
So what does the Polestar bot look like in practice? Well, it works through an account called Polestar Climate Truths (@PolestarTruths), which could be misconstrued for an account focused on exposing Polestar for lies, but no, it’s verifiably linked to Polestar’s global accounts.
In reality, Polestar has created a Twitter reply guy. Look at this – here it is quote tweeting a U.S. Congressional candidate who’s just trying to bait engagement by being edgy with extremely easily debunked claims.
At the moment, fossil fuels still account for 80% of energy produced worldwide. They are therefore responsible for a huge amount of greenhouse gas emissions, leading to climate change. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, it’s possibly for 90% of the world’s… https://t.co/Qo5CtSrAnz
— Polestar Climate Truths (@PolestarTruths) November 23, 2023
And, oh boy, look at this. A Twitter user posted a take that EVs are more environmentally friendly than gas-powered cars, explaining in a follow-up tweet that their existence doesn’t negate other hugely harmful problems with our transport networks, such as car-dependent cities, sprawl, and single-user vehicles. That major cities are naturally wasteful because of our reliance on cars instead of more efficient transport, like trains or buses, isn’t a controversial or incorrect take – but obviously, Polestar is a company first and a climate advocacy organisation second – so you get this quote tweet that just addresses the Twitter user’s first message: “EVs are not environmentally friendly”.
Research shows that a mid-size EV in fact has a lower carbon footprint over its lifetime than a mid-size vehicle with an internal combustion engine – something that should improve over time as more electricity is generated by renewable energy sources. Carbon emission savings in… https://t.co/nvfw8ZmKjR
— Polestar Climate Truths (@PolestarTruths) November 23, 2023
Funnily enough, the bot actually replied to another tweet with a source acutely aware of this fact. In this response to a post from The New York Times, the bot notes that carbon offsetting isn’t actually a silver bullet for solving climate change. Oxfam’s study, which Polestar’s reply links to, is urging carbon levels to come down through less consumption, which is obviously at odds with what a company selling luxury EVs is trying to do.
Carbon offsetting unfortunately does not reach the root cause of climate change. Reforestation and afforestation play their part in lowering the temperature of the globe through carbon dioxide absorption, but currently humans continues to emit greenhouse gases. In order to reach… https://t.co/FmWwySExxF
— Polestar Climate Truths (@PolestarTruths) November 23, 2023
Anyway, we’re missing a bit of detail on Polestar’s bot. What data is it being trained on, beyond the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ‘Impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C’ report and the International Energy Agency’s ‘The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions’ report (two reports claimed by Polestar to be sources for the bot)?
Is it leveraging Google Bard, ChatGPT, or another AI application, and is Polestar offsetting the potential climate impacts of this bot with any initiatives? What safeguards are in place to prevent another Microsoft Tay situation? How can users interact with the bot, and does Polestar consider it to be in early access?
Gizmodo Australia has reached out to Polestar for clarification on each of these questions. The bot will be active until December 1.
Image: Polestar
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