AI-Generated Disaster Simulations and Public Engagement with Climate Risk

Abstract

Climate change communication increasingly seeks effective ways to reduce the psychological distance between individuals and environmental threats in order to strengthen public awareness, emotional engagement, and motivation for action. One emerging approach involves the use of AI-generated audiovisual simulations that create vivid and realistic depictions of climate-related disasters. Such simulations may enhance emotional responses and increase the perceived immediacy and personal relevance of climate risks. The present study examined whether AI-generated disaster simulations influence fear, worry, perceived personal relevance, and willingness to act regarding climate change, and whether these effects are amplified when the simulated disasters are presented in a local rather than distant context. The study was conducted among a representative Israeli sample (N = 402). Participants viewed four short AI-generated films depicting climate-related disaster scenarios: wildfires in Israel, wildfires abroad, a tsunami in Israel, and a tsunami abroad. To reduce potential order effects, the presentation order of the films was counterbalanced across participants. Following exposure to the four films, participants ranked each scenario according to its impact on four dimensions: fear, worry, perceived personal relevance, and willingness to take action, where 1 represented the most impactful film and 4 represented the least impactful. The findings revealed a strong and consistent locality effect across all examined outcomes.