The Bias AND Wrong answers are off-the-charts

The evolution of Machine Learning (AI) is an amazing thing – akin, in many ways, to the public availability of the Internet itself. However, in Energy related subjects I find it to be severly lacking – to the point where it might cost you a LOT of money if you listen to the “advice” being given.

Let’s start with the very basics. AI have no insider information of our Energy situation. Just as you might do, it goes looking around on other sites for information to use for an answer to your query. But, unlike the searches of old, it has an additional layer of bias – some would say extreme bias. AI is not a “honest broker”. It is programmed by corporations and people to reflect certain foundational information. As an obvious example, AI would never question Global Warming or Climate Change and will classify CO2 (what we and plants breathe) as a Pollutant. CO2 is a discussion in itself, a metric – a data point – and excess levels can have consequences, but it should not be looked at in the same way as carcenigenic poisons and small particulates, etc.

AI is very “national” in it’s logic. All of these things are programmed into it. Not only does it have it’s basis as determined by those who write it, it then gathers all the Media and Repetition of such – that reflect many of these biases, and adds that to the mix.

To put it bluntly, saving you money on your Energy bill is not one of the programmed biases. Our General Media (USA)…all added together….is NOT a common sense outlook on your specific situation.

This is very evident is the issue of Electrification – the conversion of most of our home and transportation energy away from multiple fuels (gas, oil, etc.) and into a single source – that being “the Grid” -and our Electric company! Make no mistake about it – this is very new! For decades many consumers have looked at having diverse fuels as a good thing! Independent minded homeowners often have wood burning stoves or a natural gas fireplace – something which will work when the the Grid does not!

So….why is this happening? Why the bias? Pretty simple – the tech brothers all live in a very temperate climate and heating a home is not first on their list! They also live in California, a state with the highest percentage of renewable energy – and so, in their case, electrification makes good sense! But when they tell a homeowner in New England to switch out their Gas Furnace to a heat pump – they might cost said homeowner an extra $500 a month for heating!

An expert like myself – can eventually get AI to give me the correct answer – but it’s quite difficult. I often have to go through 2 or 3 clarifications which no normal homeowner would ever do. Example…might go like this.

Me: Should I get a heat pump water heater
Google: They are extremely efficient!
Me: How much heat do they lose when on standby (I have a instant gas heater).
Google: It’s very little – negligible. Between tank and pipe losses, etc. it migth be 1.5 kWh in a day. Nothing much to be concerned about.
Me: I pay .34 a kWh – so that means $15 a month for nothing…not even for hot water, just for standby
Google: Yes, your price for electric changes the equation.

And it goes on. The conversation, if I left it to AI, would approve of me getting a hot water system which would cost me 4 to 5X as much per month as my gas one.

I really shouldn’t have to say more on ths subject. But for the more technically minded and those who can’t imagine “why” this is the case, I can only guess in this manner. The governments and utilities all predicted a decade back that our Electric would, by now, really be far along in terms of being generated by Renewables (Solar PV and Wind, mostly…along with Hydro and some Nuclear). They didn’t imagine that we’d STILL be less than 20% renewables in 2026-2027. As a result, most all Media and Planning was based on cheap and renewable Electricity. For much of the nation, this is NOT the case. And yet – as far as AI goes, the Big Brain thinks as it is programmed.

Do your homework. But seek the truth. Do not rely on AI to speak the truth about Energy Matters – Google or ChatGPT are not going to pay your energy bills!

I’d welcome comments and rebuttals to this – however, I have saved all my conversations with Google and other AI Agents which prove the bias – so there is really not a “leg to stand on” when it comes to the built-in bias of current AI consumer chatbots.