CHELTENHAM WOMEN TAKE ON THE 'WORLD'S TOUGHEST ROW-ATLANTIC'

Cheltenham Festivals brings AI debate to Science Festival

Cheltenham Festivals convened a unique meeting of minds ahead of its annual Science Festival this year, bringing together government, academia, industry and the cultural sector for a major symposium on the future of artificial intelligence.

Across two days in June, “ChelTechne” offered senior figures the opportunity to debate an issue which is hitting the global headlines, to imagine novel solutions to one of the 21st century’s most important challenges.

On December 12, a crew of four professional women from Cheltenham, Bristol and Cardiff will embark on an epic journey which will see them row 3,000 miles unassisted across the Atlantic when they compete in The World’s Toughest Row – Atlantic (formerly known as the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge).

Investment manager Laura Langton and PR Director Beth Motley – both from Cheltenham, together with teammates Lizz Watson and Kit Windsor will leave Tenerife rowing two hours on two hours off for up to 50 days to cross the finish line in Antigua in early 2024.

The foursome, under the name Ace of Blades, aim to complete the Atlantic Challenge to fundraise for three charities: The Outward Bound Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support and Prostate Cymru.

Laura said: "This is known as one of the world’s toughest rows. Sea sickness is inevitable, as is dealing with salt sores, sleep deprivation and technical problems. Then there is doing battle with the weather in the form of violent storms and 20ft waves.”

Teammate Beth said: "The row will push us to physical extremes, but then it’s mindset that will be all important when it comes to dealing with the vastness of the ocean.”

A premature test of Beth’s mindset came at the end of last year when her physical training suffered something of a setback when she had to have a full hip replacement in November.

Now the women are laser focused on the task ahead. They are being supported by investment advisers JM Finn and estate agency Knight Frank, and welcome other sponsors who would like to support them across the finish line.

Cheltenham Festivals, a charity which hosts four internationally-acclaimed festivals each year and maintains a year-round calendar of educational and outreach work based around science and the arts, cohosted the event with Professor Genevieve Liveley, Director of the Research Institute for Sociotechnical Cyber Security at the University of Bristol, and Reid Derby, Head of Entrepreneurship at the Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser.

“We need to imagine better how technology fits into people’s lives,” explained Derby. “Breaking down the boundaries between the sciences and the arts, between industry and culture, doesn’t happen very often – but is incredibly powerful when it does. Cheltenham Festivals, with its expertise and networks spread so widely and deeply across our ‘two cultures’, simply has unique convening power in this space.”

This year’s discussions are intended to contribute to the consultation on the government’s current White Paper on AI.

Marieke Navin, the Head of Programming for Cheltenham Science Festival, sees science and culture as working hand-in-hand. “The UK will emerge as a cybertech superpower if and when the public sector, civil society, academia, industry and private sector all come together,” she explained.

“Crucially, the general public, too, should be constantly engaged, to ensure science and technology is not perceived to be at the fringes of citizens’ lives.

Cheltenham Festivals takes seriously its role and potential as a hub for this kind of crosssociety thinking.”