“FutureGuessr” Game Confronts Users with Stark Visions of Climate change’s Impact
PARIS - A new online game, FutureGuessr, is challenging users to identify landmarks dramatically altered by climate change in the year 2100. Developed by the team behind FutureGuessr, the game presents images of locations transformed by rising sea levels, extreme weather, and ecological shifts, forcing players to confront the potential consequences of global warming.
The project deliberately minimizes its environmental impact,according to creator Farouk Khelifi. “We all know ChatGPT or Midjourney, but there are many open-source solutions that allow you to use AI while controlling your carbon footprint,” he stated. FutureGuessr’s development consumed no more energy than “a computer that everyone can have at home,” with the AI trained and operated locally, offline, using only the last three reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
This approach stands in stark contrast to the projected water consumption of generative AI – researchers estimate between 4.2 and 6.6 billion cubic meters will be needed in 2027 to cool the computers powering it.
FutureGuessr joins a growing trend of video games designed to raise awareness about environmental issues. Titles like Terra Nil (2023), which tasks players with restoring ecosystems, and Alba: A Wildlife Adventure (2020), where players fight to protect an island’s wildlife, similarly engage players with the realities of a changing planet. Even earlier, Fate of the World (2011) simulated the complexities of averting climate catastrophe through strategic management of global resources.
While FutureGuessr differs as a web-based experience,its core purpose aligns with these games: to inspire action by visualizing a perhaps devastating future. The game’s creators hope to prompt a reaction and encourage efforts to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.
