Nobel laureate Dr. John Clauser, a CO₂ Coalition Board of Directors member, delivered a keynote lecture at Quantum Korea 2023 Seoul on June 26, 2023.

Regarding climate, Dr. Clauser stated “I don’t believe there is a climate crisis” in his keynote address.  The speech was reported by several Korean news media.  

From Seoul Economic Daily:

“In the era of AI, scientists should play the role of discerning truth from falsehood.”

“The world we live in today is filled with misinformation. It is up to each of you to serve as judges, distinguishing truth from falsehood based on accurate observations of phenomena.”

Renowned quantum physics scholar Dr. John Clauser (81), who received the Nobel Prize in Physics last year for his research in quantum mechanics, emphasized at the opening ceremony of the “Quantum Korea 2023” event, held by the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning with the theme of “Korea’s Quantum Leap,” at Seoul’s Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) on the 26th. He stated, “Misinformation is being spread by those with political and opportunistic motives.” Furthermore, he remarked, “Even chatbots like ChatGPT can be better at lying than humans,” emphasizing that “distinguishing truth from falsehood is a challenging task for both humans and computers.”

During his keynote speech aimed at young Korean scientists and engineering students, Dr. Clauser urged scientists to fulfill their social role by verifying facts and informing the public, particularly in light of the potential drawbacks of interactive artificial intelligence (AI) systems that generate and provide unverified information to users. He emphasized the importance of scientists in society and called upon them to engage in fact-checking and dissemination of information.

He delved into the controversial subject of quantum mechanics and used his past research experience to illustrate his point, stating, “True truth can be found through the observation of natural phenomena.” He continued, “Scientists have obtained information through careful observation and experimentation, and they have prevented the spread of misinformation through papers and peer reviews.” He added, “In an era of rapid advancement in AI technology, the role of scientists as judges is necessary.”

Dr. Clauser, known for his stance against climate change, diagnosed the current situation as not being a climate crisis and criticized the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for spreading misinformation. He stated, “I don’t believe there is a climate crisis” and expressed his belief that “key processes are exaggerated and misunderstood by approximately 200 times.” Dr. Clauser, who is recognized as a climate change skeptic, also became a member of the board of directors of the CO2 Coalition last month, an organization that argues that carbon dioxide emissions are beneficial to life on Earth.

Dr. Clauser received the Nobel Prize in Physics for experimentally elucidating the phenomenon of quantum entanglement, which forms the theoretical basis for quantum cryptography. He majored in physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and worked as a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley campus. As a keynote speaker at Quantum Korea 2023, he delivered a keynote lecture on the topic of quantum entanglement and also personally awarded prizes to students who won quantum-related competitions, expressing his enthusiasm.

Photo credit:  Yonhap News. Dr. John Clauser, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics last year, delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of “Quantum Korea 2023,” the largest international event on quantum technology held in Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul’s Jung-gu district on the 26th.

Note: Special thanks to Seok Soon Park for providing the Seoul Economic Daily article (https://www.sedaily.com), as well as the English translation.