In conversation with Sir Ronald Cohen’s AI chatbot

As journalists, our inboxes are always full of emails from PRs pitching interviews with their clients – some very useful, others irrelevant. But I have never seen an email suggesting I have a conversation with someone’s avatar. And it wasn't nobody: the email came from none other than Sir Ronald Cohen, president of GSG Impact and a pioneer of impact investing. 

Intrigued, I click through the link provided. On the landing page, an image of a glowing Sir Ronald looks thoughtfully at the horizon, next to a headline asking “Which of my ideas are you curious about?” Below, an empty text box invites the visitor to “Venture into my ideas and reflections”. 

I’m not sure how many questions I get to ask (as this appears to be a pre-launch version) so choose carefully, trying to find a question that will assess how well this reflects Sir Ronald’s views. Let’s start with a niche but revealing one: the size of the global impact investing market. The impact sector usually uses GIIN research as a reference point – which estimates impact investments globally just above US$1.5tn. But I know Sir Ronald prefers to use a higher figure of above US$2tn, which uses slightly different metrics. 

So I try to trick the bot: “How big is the global impact investing market according to the latest estimate from the GIIN?” It answers correctly: “According to the latest estimate from the GIIN, the global impact investing market is valued at approximately US$1.57 trillion.” 

But it can’t help but add: “However, when you include sustainability-linked bonds and loans, which amount to $700 billion according to BNP Paribas figures, the total impact investment market reaches about $2.3 trillion.” Classic Ronnie. 

Another few interactions confirm the bot is indeed pretty knowledgeable on impact investing, and has a tendency to plug some of Sir Ronald’s favourite concepts in its answers, such as social impact bonds and impact investing wholesalers. So what does it base its answers on? “The works and insights of Sir Ronald Cohen, drawing from his books, lectures, interviews, and other verified materials,” replies the chatbot.

Who’s behind it?

The AI bot isn’t keen to tell me who exactly its creator is, but a bit of research shows that it’s a startup called Echo Wisdom Ltd, based in Israel, which was incorporated in December 2024. 

The website (still in “pre launch”) offers services for authors, inviting them to create an AI avatar that “speaks in your voice and teaches through your methods”. It makes clear that the bot “is not a copy of your mind” (some might find this reassuring, others disappointing) and is rather “a faithful bridge to your ideas”. 

Echo Wisdom tells authors their bots will increase reader engagement and keep “your influence growing even when you are not in the room”. Use of the website for both authors and readers is currently free of charge, but the small print specifies this could change in the future. Echo Wisdom mentions the possibility for authors to create income from subscriptions by selling “premium practice journeys” to readers. 

Co-founder Limor Segev told Pioneers Post the startup has been “working closely with Ronnie” for a few months, as well as several dozen other authors.

• Listen to our Good Experts Podcast: How to do AI – the social enterprise way

Bad chocolate and a new job

I go back to the bot. The headline and text in the typing box have changed to a more conversational “Let’s brainstorm together” and “Dive into a context or personalise it, where do you want to kick off?” The avatar can also speak out loud using Sir Ronald’s voice, which is fairly realistic, if a bit dispassionate.

At the bottom of the page, three of Sir Ronald’s “concepts” link to pre-defined themes. One is about measuring my impact. I make up a best-in-class case study of a tech business that gives all the right answers, and the bot regularly congratulates me. The final impact measurement plan we come up with includes an impact-weighted accounts framework, of which Sir Ronald is, indeed, a strong advocate.

• Read our interview: Sir Ronald Cohen: ‘Transparency is going to disrupt companies delivering negative impacts’

Now, another pre-defined “concept” looks at value chains. This time I imagine a chocolate company with terrible social and environmental impact (basically a reverse-Tony’s Chocolonely). Sir Ronald’s bot remains diplomatic, but quickly lets me know that using underpaid migrants to process cocoa beans or having a factory exclusively powered by coal isn’t very good, and provides me with a personalised plan for improvement.

The answers could be likened to a version of ChatGPT, with a Ronnie bias. But the advice it gives is useful, and I can imagine a business leader or investor may improve their impact performance thanks to it (plus I haven’t encountered any silly hallucinations in my limited experiment) – so it could be seen as an example of how AI will drive positive impact.

It is pretty honest too. When I explain that the chocolate company’s directors are so ideologically opposed to social or environmental good that I would get fired if I followed its advice… the bot advises me to find another job.

Top image: a screenshot of the homepage of Sir Ronald Cohen's AI chatbot, developed by Echo Wisdom.