Keeping It Real

ChatGPT's been reading The Green Edge. Here's what it found.

For reasons we’ll ask the perpetrator about in the Green Edge Podcast episode that follows this post, someone we know quite well took it on themselves recently to feed ChatGPT a bunch of our blog posts and podcast transcripts, and then sat back as the AI tore through our words, spun them back, and dished out a few choice insights.

There was a purpose to this beyond just a bit of AI japery, which again we’ll talk about on the podcast. As it turned out, though, the result was kind of like having a conversation with a future version of ourselves. What we got back were some pretty good takes on where we are now, the challenges ahead, and where we could be going. And the kicker? It seems AI itself might just become a secret weapon (oops, not secret anymore) for The Green Edge, as well as for the green revolution we created the rag for in the first place.

Here's a very short precis of what ChatGPT had to say – as ever, the AI verbiage ran into the tomes – together with our take on the degrees to which we think it hit the mark.

Green Skills: The Pulse of the Revolution

First off, ChatGPT nailed our cause célèbre: green skills are indeed the lifeblood of the green revolution. Everything we’re talking about – Net Zero, renewable energy, electric vehicles, sustainable construction – runs on skills. No skills, no revolution. This isn’t just fluff; it’s the real stuff, and ChatGPT saw right through our podcast banter and blog dives to confirm what we already knew: we’re all-in on making sure the workforce of the future knows what it’s doing.

Our Take: At The Green Edge, we’ve been tracking this wave of green skills, from hydrogen tech to solar panels, and everything in between. The future is built on know-how. And while we’re at it, we note that ChatGPT recommended we crank up the volume ourselves by building out more sector-specific guides or case studies to show real-world examples of green skills in action. A good point well presented – practical stuff, like how SMEs are already winning with green upskilling is already high on our search radar.

Education: Flip the Script

ChatGPT was pretty clear about us banging on about another thing: education has got to evolve, fast. The current system is too slow, too rigid, too old-school. If we’re going to power the green economy, we need fast, flexible, modular training (with stackable micro-credentials) that fits around real lives and real jobs. ChatGPT picked up on our vibes – lifelong learning, STEM with a sustainability core, skills-on-demand for people who need them now, not tomorrow.

Our Take: We’ve talked to plenty of people that we respect who tell us that education needs a hard reboot. ChatGPT saw it too, straight from the way we’ve been laying it down in our blog and podcasts. Lifelong learning, micro-credentials, hands-on training – that’s what it’s going to take. We want a Net Zero future? A good place to start would be with Net Zero training for everyone.

AI-generated logo for notional non-profit with tagline ‘Net Zero and Sustainability Education for Everyone’. Image: TGE.

Sector Dive: Go Deep, Go Wide

ChatGPT saw our style – how we like to go deep into the details on the blog, but keep things loose and wide-ranging on the podcast. That’s intentional. On the blog, we dissect the complex stuff, like how retrofitting actually works or what the real barriers are to EV infrastructure. On the podcast, we stretch out, covering everything from rewilding to circular economies, sometimes floating between ideas like a deep river winding its way through the green economy.

Our Take: We love that balance between nitty-gritty and big-picture. But we’ve often talked about expanding this rhythm even more: perhaps through sector-specific webinars where we get real-time feedback from industry leaders, educators, and the people actually doing the work. There’s too much spouting from the top and it often seems to us there’s a shortage of opportunities to bring everyone together in one (virtual) room and let the sparks fly.

Opportunities: SMEs, We're Looking at You

Here’s where ChatGPT hit the sweet spot: SMEs. The underdogs of the green revolution, and yet, they’re the ones doing some of the most innovative, transformative work. What’s holding them back? Skills, of course. But the AI also pointed out something we’re always talking about – SMEs are ready to lead the charge if they get the right support. That’s where the opportunity is, and ChatGPT reminded us how central it is to our entire vision at The Green Edge.

Our Take: SMEs are the backbone of the green economy. But why stop at talking about them? Someone needs to go bigger, perhaps by creating a Green Skills Implementation Guide specifically for SMEs, with practical steps on how they can harness green skills, tap into government funding, and lead the way. And we often get frustrated by a dearth of showcased success stories from these small businesses that have already cracked the code. After all, what better way is there to inspire others to follow?

AI and Sustainability: Already Shaping the Future

This whole ChatGPT experiment got us thinking. Here’s an AI that took our work – our blogs, our podcasts – and came back with analysis, insights, perspectives. But it didn’t stop there. It reminded us of what AI is already doing out in the world, pushing sustainability forward. AI is being used to optimise renewable energy grids, making them smarter and more efficient by predicting demand and managing supply. Companies like Google are already using AI to cut energy use in their data centres by up to 40%, using algorithms that tweak cooling systems based on real-time data.

And it’s not just energy. AI is also helping track deforestation from space using satellite imagery, ensuring that we keep an eye on the planet’s lungs. The combination of big data and AI means we can monitor sustainability on a global scale in ways we never could before. This technology is already here, pushing the limits of what’s possible. And it’s only going to grow.

Our Take: The future of AI and sustainability is already in motion. And that got us thinking about how AI could help shape The Green Edge’s future too. Perhaps extending our reports roundups with AI-driven data tracking that pulls the latest reports and trends in green skills, or even installing some AI-curated content that helps us push out sharper, faster updates. AI could be our research assistant, always learning and - like Roz in Monsters Inc. – always watching.

Image: Disney

So, what did we learn from our AI adventure? That the future is wide open, and green skills are the key to unlocking it. Also that society could – and should – do more, push further, and lean into this revolution with even greater force. But we were pretty convinced of that already.

As for The Green Edge, ChatGPT gave us some useful – we might even say sharp – insights into our stance, style and tone, both in our writings and in our podcasts. It made a few suggestions that we feel could be worth taking on board, including how we might use AI ourselves to enhance and develop our output. Who knows – perhaps we might even trust AI to draft a post or two for us sometime.

Perhaps we already have.