Our panel of volunteer experts, assembled for our pilot competition to give away US$500,000 of cloud computing to advance sustainability in the Global South

On Dec 15 2022, an anonymous donor gave See Through News a free licence for half a million dollars worth of supercomputer-grade cloud computing. The only strings attached were

• the gift was to be used to promote the STN Goal of Speeding Up Carbon Drawdown by Helping the Inactive Become Active
• the free licence expired April 2023

Here’s the current Expert Panel we’ve assembled to assess all Applications shortlisted by our project partner, the Global Sustainable Futures Network. Each shortlisted Application will be assessed by:

• a Technical Expert: the ‘If’ test. Looking at the project’s suitability and readiness for cloud computing
• a Subject Expert: the ‘How’ test. Examining the Application’s methodology
• a Political Expert: the ‘Why’ test. Assessing how it serves the See Through News Goal, and how soon results could start measurably reducing carbon in the real world

For more details on the assessment process and the purpose of the Competition, see this press release which contains links to other relevant articles.

Political Expert

Jonathan is Global Environment Editor for The Guardian. He now lives in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, where he founded and writes for Sumaúma, a publication about rainforest sustainability. He is also active in the Rainforest Journalism Fund and the China Environmental Press Awards

Technical Expert

Michael Uschold is a  computer scientist, Artificial Intelligence researcher, and consultant, known for his work on knowledge representation and ontology. Michael’s research interests and expertise are in the field of software concept design and architecture, facilitation, analysis & modelling, asking probing questions, communication of complex information in simple terms, constructive reviewing and critiquing, and semantic technology.

Climate change is the most important challenge humanity faces – I’m now part of the problem and want to be part of the solution. I know the people behind See Through News, trust their commitment to effect change, and competence to achieve it.

Application Co-ordinator and Shortlister, Subject Expert: Construction

Dr Renuka Thakore has set up a vibrant, strategically performing community that attracts enthusiastic like-minded coordinators worldwide.

I am passionate about our environment and responsibility. I also love to see brilliant teams and individuals achieving breakthroughs in the creation of a better world. I believe that the See Through Carbon Competition is highly aligned with these same things and that is why I am delighted to volunteer

Subject Expert: Construction, Carbon Auditing

Joe is an Associate and researcher at leading sustainable architects FCBStudios. He leads environmental research at the practice, identifying, developing and enabling research across sectors and projects. His specialism is the influence of school buildings on students, measuring perceptions, environmental performance and building forms as well as predicting, measuring and mitigating carbon impacts of architecture. He has taught at a number of universities in the UK and is part of core research groups within Architects Declare, CIBSE and LETI.

Subject Expert: Food/Farming/Agriculture

In 1987, Guy Singh-Watson started a man-and-a-wheelbarrow business delivering homegrown organic veg to friends. Today, Riverford is a national veg box scheme delivering to 70,000 customers a week. Today, Riverford is a national veg box scheme delivering to 70,000 customers a week. In 2018, tired of meetings, brands and the assumption greed is our main motivation, Guy converted Riverford to employee ownership. He advocates using business to improve the world, bit by bit. Do what we can to become kinder, more considerate, and sustainable, and we can help make our world one we’d want to live in. Guy’s newsletters connect people to the farm with honest accounts of the trials and tribulations of producing organic food.

Subject Expert, AI, Education & Communication

Susan lectures in Design Informatics at Edinburgh University’s School of Informatics. She studies human-computer interaction, interaction design and cognitive science related to sustainability and circular economy, responsible technology design, data literacy, creativity and tangible computing. Susan’s research includes:

• emerging applications of new technologies and data-driven methods for visual arts, performing arts, music & craft
• empirically-informed approaches to teach children about computing through playful, tangible interfaces.
• neural network models of visual cognition, combining computer science, psychology and linguistics
• AI systems for TV production
• accessible web interfaces for statistical analysis

“This sounds like a great initiative. I am very happy to help!“

Political Expert

Robert Barnard-Weston is a social and eco-entrepreneur, speaker, author and organisational change facilitator. He has been involved in corporate social responsibility strategy, culture change, education, training and communications for over thirty years. He has co-launched the UK Farmers’ Markets Movement, an industrial-scale composting and green energy company, an artisan bakery company, the first eco-hotel in Bath, UK, an international social and environmental responsibility consultancy, a regenerative economics and localisation movement and five children.

“I would like this initiative to succeed because I sincerely believe that tech solutions to the carbon conundrum are now coming of age. If we can combine some of the world’s finest minds with massive acceleration and scaling of their data-driven responses, we may see some exceptionally heartening outcomes.”

Technical Expert

Tom has over 20 years experience in the computing industry, beginning with Hewlett Packard before focusing entirely on early stage technology businesses. An experienced board member over a wide range of cutting-edge tech start-ups, he currently chairs five advanced software businesses, including Yellow Dog, donor of this Competition’s Prize of US$500,000 worth of cloud computing.

“I am passionate about our environment and responsibility. I also love to see brilliant teams and individuals achieving breakthroughs in the creation of a better world. I believe that STCC is highly aligned with these same things and that is why I am delighted to volunteerPlease apply and spread the word!”

Robert Stern, See Through News

Expert Panel Chair

Robert founded See Through News in March 2021 after various careers including textile trader, TV news journalist, documentary filmmaker and broadcast consultant. He stopped trying to make a living to set up See Through News, a zero-budget social media network with the Goal of Speeding Up Carbon Drawdown by Helping the Inactive Become Active. Robert’s formal qualification is a degree in Chinese. He is a storyteller.

My adult life has coincided with the pushers feeding our fossil fuel addiction using denial, then greenwash, to buy themselves decades of profits. The reality of the Greenhouse Effect seems, finally, to be turning the tide. Despite their power and money, the retreat of vested interests appears as irreversible as the laws of atmospheric physics. Our challenge now is to mitigate the worst impacts of our wasted decades, as fast as possible. This Competition offers the Global South the chance, for once, to be the beneficiaries, rather than the victims, of technology. For better or worse, AI is driving modern society. The See Through Carbon Competition is a test of whether tech can be part of the solution, not just the problem.