{"id":545786,"date":"2026-04-23T03:23:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T03:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/545786\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T03:23:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T03:23:21","slug":"for-earth-day-i-asked-ai-to-show-me-what-the-future-looks-like","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/545786\/","title":{"rendered":"For Earth Day, I asked AI to show me what the future looks like"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"elk-51fc0d2a-9ef8-4dfc-838f-afd25dfec085\">For Earth Day, I asked AI a simple question: What will the planet&#8217;s biggest cities look like 1,000 years from now based not on sci-fi guesses but on hard data already available today. I asked it to avoid sci-fi guesses, predictions of specific events or other fun ideas we humans like to impose on visions of the future and to stick to real data on long-term environmental trends. And it came back with some not-so-surprising results.<\/p>\n<p>ChatGPT looked at established climate research, including *deep breath\u201d <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/report\/ar6\/wg1\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/report\/ar6\/wg1\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IPCC Sixth Assessment Report<\/a>, <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/sealevel.nasa.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/sealevel.nasa.gov\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NASA Sea Level Change Portal<\/a>, <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/weather.metoffice.gov.uk\/climate-change\/what-is-climate-change\" data-url=\"https:\/\/weather.metoffice.gov.uk\/climate-change\/what-is-climate-change\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Met Office Climate Change Overview<\/a>, <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/wmo.int\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/wmo.int\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Climate Reports<\/a>, and so many more resources I&#8217;d never think to turn to. All of this outlined a broad direction over the next centuries rather than specific outcomes for individual cities.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-51fc0d2a-9ef8-4dfc-838f-afd25dfec085-2\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">From there, the AI focused on the big, measurable forces already reshaping the planet today, those climate changes we hear about, shrug and ignore, like rising sea levels, driven by warming oceans and ice loss, more intense rainfall and flooding and increasingly extreme heat, shaping how cities function at a basic physical level.<\/p>\n<p>            You may like<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Of course, there&#8217;s AI drift and hallucination in here, and just for now, I&#8217;m parking the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.creativebloq.com\/news\/ai-conference-what-i-learned\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.creativebloq.com\/news\/ai-conference-what-i-learned\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.creativebloq.com\/news\/ai-conference-what-i-learned\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ethical issues of <\/a><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.creativebloq.com\/news\/ai-conference-what-i-learned\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.creativebloq.com\/news\/ai-conference-what-i-learned\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.creativebloq.com\/news\/ai-conference-what-i-learned\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">AI.<\/a> The contradiction of using AI and its carbon footprint isn&#8217;t wasted on me, but as an experiment, I think it&#8217;s an interesting glimpse into our future.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-bec4d9eb-9c3d-48ea-af38-731549cebe79\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/>London<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:100.00%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qVKvxKvNWYeEmSjawuwGfC.png\" alt=\"AI generated images of the future of cities\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qVKvxKvNWYeEmSjawuwGfC.png\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/qVKvxKvNWYeEmSjawuwGfC.png\" class=\"inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: Gemini)<a id=\"elk-926ca4c4-dc15-44ae-82d3-1ca37f773825\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/>Shanghai<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:100.00%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/aTjpDfEBBouDwBaXCiGNAV.png\" alt=\"Shanghai in the future\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/aTjpDfEBBouDwBaXCiGNAV.png\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/aTjpDfEBBouDwBaXCiGNAV.png\" class=\"inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: Gemini)<a id=\"elk-dbb66a08-3703-402d-b719-029c68ed74f0\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/>Mumbai<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:100.00%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/mqKkFk7pAGriqr2Uus9mV8.png\" alt=\"An AI vision of Mumbai\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/mqKkFk7pAGriqr2Uus9mV8.png\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/mqKkFk7pAGriqr2Uus9mV8.png\" class=\"inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: Gemini)<a id=\"elk-efb6c303-cc55-4a8a-a445-7d2136879992\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/>Paris<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:100.00%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WFDx38fRzCnuSgs6cXRB4h.png\" alt=\"Paris under water\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WFDx38fRzCnuSgs6cXRB4h.png\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WFDx38fRzCnuSgs6cXRB4h.png\" class=\"inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: Gemini)<a id=\"elk-9db6ade7-51e5-4c7f-a4cf-622d3707fb9c\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/>Lagos<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:100.00%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/JM5CfuCiQvFAcwehJy5bED.png\" alt=\"Lagos in the future\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/JM5CfuCiQvFAcwehJy5bED.png\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/JM5CfuCiQvFAcwehJy5bED.png\" class=\"inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: Gemini)<a id=\"elk-28214ae6-efb7-41a6-9e70-de834ccf95c7\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/>New York<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/B288Zh3uz49WEPs5zA3gmQ.jpg\" alt=\"An AI vision of New York 1000 years from now\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/B288Zh3uz49WEPs5zA3gmQ.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/B288Zh3uz49WEPs5zA3gmQ.jpg\" class=\"inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: Gemini)<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Sign up to Creative Bloq&#8217;s daily newsletter, which brings you the latest news and inspiration from the worlds of art, design and technology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For Earth Day, I asked AI a simple question: What will the planet&#8217;s biggest cities look like 1,000&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[554,733,4308,86,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-545786","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-technology","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}