Latest news with #Spring2023
CNET
09-06-2025
- Health
- CNET
Getting Good Results From AI and Search Engines Means Asking the Right Questions
The way you search online or ask an AI chatbot for information can influence the results you get, even if you aren't trying to find information that reinforces your own beliefs, according to a new study. People tend to use terms, whether in a traditional search engine like Google or a conversational tool like OpenAI's ChatGPT, that reflect their existing biases and perceptions, according to the study, published this spring in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. More importantly, search engines and chatbots often provide results that reinforce those beliefs, even if the intent is to learn more about the topic. For example, imagine you're trying to learn about the health effects of drinking coffee every day. If you, like me, enjoy having a couple of cups of joe first thing in the morning, you may search for something like "is coffee healthy?" or "health benefits of coffee." If you're already skeptical (maybe a tea purist), you might search for "is coffee bad for you?" instead. The researchers found that framing of questions could skew the results -- I'd mostly get answers that show the benefits of coffee, while you'd get the opposite. "When people look up information, whether it's Google or ChatGPT, they actually use search terms that reflect what they already believe," Eugina Leung, an assistant professor at Tulane University and lead author of the study, told me. These concerns about how we get information that favors our own preconceptions are nothing new. Long before the internet, you'd learn about the world from a newspaper that might carry a particular slant. But the prevalence of search engines and social media makes it easier to fall down a rabbit hole and harder to realize you're in it. With AI chatbots and AI-powered search telling you with confidence what you should know, and sometimes making it up or not telling you where the information comes from, there's never been a more important time to think deeply about how you get information online. The question is: How do you get the best answers? Asking the wrong questions The researchers conducted 21 studies with nearly 10,000 participants who were asked to perform searches on certain preselected topics, including the health effects of caffeine, gas prices, crime rates, COVID-19 and nuclear energy. The search engines and tools used included Google, ChatGPT and custom-designed search engines and AI chatbots. The researchers' results showed that what they called the "narrow search effect" was a function of both how people asked questions and how the tech platforms responded. People have a habit, in essence, of asking the wrong questions (or asking questions in the wrong way). They tended to use search terms or AI prompts that demonstrated what they already thought, and search engines and chatbots were designed to provide narrow, extremely relevant answers, delivered on those answers. "The answers end up basically just confirming what they believe in the first place," Leung said. Read more: AI Essentials: 27 Ways to Make Gen AI Work for You, According to Our Experts The researchers also checked to see if participants changed their beliefs after conducting a search. When served a narrow selection of answers that largely confirmed their beliefs, they were unlikely to see significant changes. But when the researchers provided a custom-built search engine and chatbot designed to offer a broader array of answers, they were more likely to change. Leung said platforms could provide people with the option of a broader search, which could prove helpful in situations where the user is trying to find a wider variety of sources. "Our research is not trying to suggest that search engines or algorithms should always broaden their search results," she said. "I do think there is a lot of value in providing very focused and very narrow search results in certain situations." How to ask the right questions If you want a broader array of answers to your questions, there are some things you can do, Leung said. First, think specifically about what exactly it is you're trying to learn. She used an example of trying to decide if you want to invest in a particular company's stock. Asking if it's a good stock or a bad stock to buy will likely skew your results -- more positive news if you ask if it's good, more negative news if you ask if it's bad. Instead, try a single, more neutral search term. Or ask both terms and evaluate the results of each. Especially with an AI chatbot, you can ask for a broad range of perspectives directly in the prompt. If you want to know if you should keep drinking two cups of coffee a day, ask the chatbot for a variety of opinions and the evidence behind them. The researchers tried this in one of their experiments and found they got more variety in results. "We asked ChatGPT to provide different perspectives to answer the query from the participants and to provide as much evidence to back up those claims as possible," Leung said. Asking follow-up questions didn't work quite as well, Leung said. If those questions aren't getting broader answers, you may get the opposite effect -- even more narrow, affirming results. In many cases, people who asked lots of follow-up questions just "fell deeper down into the rabbit hole," she said.
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Britain could be hotter than Ibiza as country basks in sunshine this weekend - as driest spring for more than a century continues
Parts of the UK are set to beat temperatures in Ibiza over the weekend as Brits experience the driest spring in more than a century. Temperatures could hit 25C on Sunday in western areas of England and parts of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with most areas set to see blue skies over both days, the Met Office said. As of Friday, 80.6mm of rain has been recorded for the UK this spring, nearly 20mm less than the record low for the full season of 100.7mm set in 1852. With more than two weeks of May left, the Met Office said it is too early to say how spring (March, April and May) as a whole will rank. Met Office forecaster Tom Morgan said: 'This weekend will really be a continuation of what we've seen over the last week or two, lots of sun shining. 'A few caveats, eastern parts of the UK will see generally cloudier skies in the mornings first thing, both tomorrow and on Sunday. 'And it's been those eastern coasts where it's been pretty cool and cloudy through recent days, so if you are stuck on the North Sea coasts of England in particular, but also north-east Scotland, there will be some low cloud and temperatures very much suppressed, but for the vast majority, blue skies through the afternoons and temperatures in the low 20s. 'Tomorrow, probably 23C or 24C is on the cards in several areas. 'Sunday will probably be the slightly warmer day, so 22C to 24C a bit more widespread across the west, so the central belt Scotland, Northern Ireland, north-west England, east Wales and south-west England, perhaps an isolated 25C.' Mr Morgan said there may be rainfall at the end of the month, though not necessarily enough to be 'useful' for farmers after the dry spell. Rachel Hallos, vice president of the National Farmers' Union (NFU), previously said: 'The lack of any substantial rain over the past few weeks is starting to raise a few concerns although the picture across farming sectors is mixed. 'Farmers in some parts of the country have started irrigating much earlier than normal, but thankfully reservoirs are full following the wet autumn and winter and there are good stores of groundwater. 'The extreme weather patterns we now regularly experience are impacting our ability to feed the nation.' The Environment Agency warned of a 'medium' risk of drought in England this summer without sustained rainfall. The Met Office said the driver for the prolonged warm and very dry spell has been high pressure. Responding to farmers' concerns, a Government spokesperson said: 'Our water infrastructure is crumbling after years of underinvestment, with population growth and climate change adding further strain. England has experienced its driest start to spring in March and April since 1956 UK weather: A tale of two extremes During the heatwave of July 2022 – in the hottest year on record for the UK – temperatures reached 40C for the first time, hitting 40.3C in Lincolnshire. But 2023 marked England's fourth wettest year since Met Office data began. In 2024 England recorded the wettest 12-month period ending in September since 1871, according to the Environment Agency. The weather has since tilted back towards very dry conditions, with below-average UK rainfall every month so far in 2025. 'We are monitoring water levels and expect water companies to cut leaks and take action to protect supplies. 'Over £104 billion of private sector investment has been secured to fund essential infrastructure, including nine new reservoirs, to help secure our future water supply for farmers.' The warning comes amid the possibility of hosepipe bans, as parts of the country start to show the impact of scant rainfall in recent weeks. Drone photographs taken earlier this week show the partially revealed bed of the Woodhead Reservoir in Derbyshire after weeks of little rain. Thames Water has already begun warning that potential restrictions could be put in place. Chief executive Chris Weston said the company is doing 'all we need to' to prepare for potential water shortages. He said the utility giant has learned the lessons of 2022, when it was reported the firm came 'dangerously close' to running out of water amid drought and record heatwaves. While a hosepipe ban is not a certainty, it could be one of many options that utility companies consider in a bid to preserve water supplies should the dry spell continue.
