SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has presented a controversial plan to control global warming, but experts have warned that it could result in a disaster.
The tech-billionaire took to X (formerly Twitter) to share that global warming can be controlled via a large constellation of satellites.
He wrote, “A large solar-powered AI satellite constellation would be able to prevent global warming by making tiny adjustments in how much solar energy reaches Earth.”
He added that the AI enabled constellation would need only “tiny adjustments” to control global warming or global cooling, adding, “Earth has been a snowball many times in the past.”
Experts have weighed in on the geo-engineering plan presented by Musk, with some calling it “unpredictable and highly speculative”.
Lili Fuhr, director of the fossil economy program at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) in Berlin, said Musk’s idea of solar geoengineering can further destabilise the climate system.
She added that in case the humans decide to deploy it, they won’t be able to pause or halt without putting the lives of billions of people at risk.
Fuhr warned, “The highly speculative technology will cause rapid temperature spikes when halted and is a dangerous distraction from solving the crises that looms.”
Musk-owned chatbot, Grok, also highlighted the risks associated with this idea, stating, “It risks uneven regional cooling, potentially disrupting ecosystems and weather patterns.It also faces geopolitical tensions over control and potential abrupt warming if the system fails.”