SUSearch

Inspiration

As media saturation reaches an all-time high, consumers continue to face the challenge of discerning reputable information from corporate spin. Many global corporations leverage their vast resources to greenwash their image, prioritizing profit while masking unethical practices. Researching and reflecting on survivorship bias inspired us to find a solution to this global challenge. Our project aims to disrupt the cycle by starting the conversation. By silencing the noise and revealing the truth behind corporate operations, we empower and enlighten consumers in an accessible and entertaining way.

What it does

We’re gamifying educating people on exploitative capitalism. The game prompts the user with clues that reveal unsustainable practices of some company. After guessing a word based on the clue, the user has to find it in a word search. Once all 5 words have been found, the user has won the game and the company of the day is revealed. After the user has completed the game of the day, they must wait until the following day to play again with a new word search focused on a new company. Our solution educates its users on the unsustainable actions taken by relevant companies based on company yearly sustainability reports and makes users conscious of greenwashing by these companies, thereby diminishing survivorship bias.

How we built it

We created the game by utilizing the programming languages HTML, CSS, Python, and JavaScript. We organized and built the project using git version control and Github. During the initial brainstorming phase of the project, we had to find a solution that would be effective at combating bias, bring companies’ unsustainable practices to light, and also be captivating for users. We ultimately settled on creating a word puzzle game that would be easily accessible, and an entertaining/engaging way to learn about sustainability practices while also illuminating deceitful sustainability practices of companies. We used python, a Claude API and a Flask framework to compare Global Reporting Initiative standards to the company’s most recent Corporate Social Responsibility Reports and generate clues for the word search. For hosting we used Render.

Challenges we ran into

Our first issue was generating an effective solution to the issue of systemic bias in relation to noise and silence. After brainstorming for far longer than expected and conversing with mentors, we settled on a strong idea to educate on corporate misinformation through gaming. Next, we had issues learning how to navigate GitHub. However, through research and teamwork, we have become relatively comfortable with all GitHub functions. Moreover, learning how to incorporate use of an API in our program was a big challenge. Again, through research, trial and error, and help of mentors, we overcame this barrier and successfully implemented Claude in our program to generate hints and words for the wordsearch. Our last big issue we faced was communication between the Python and HTML files, which we solved by utilizing a Flask framework local webserver.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud of our new ability to utilize GitHub. Given it’s such an important skill for programmers to be able to effectively and efficiently share their code with others, understanding how GitHub works was an important achievement for our team. Moreover, none of us have worked with interacting with an API through code, and understanding this process has been a very proud accomplishment for the group. We’re proud that we are able to produce a fun interactive game that we would actually play and enjoy.

What we learned

Despite having limited technical knowledge in web development, we learned a lot about utilizing AI, debugging, and collaborating. Our team also learned how to use programming to implement a solution to a real world problem. Through research, trial and error, and mentoring, we went through the process of creating an innovative game for the first time, and have become empowered that programming real solutions to real problems is possible. Moreover, throughout our research, we learned how serious the issue of survivorship bias in corporate environmental reports is. It’s an issue that is underspoken about, and reading about it was very enlightening for our group members.

What's next for SUSearch

In future, we would do more research on API modules that we could implement in our program. Ones that are better at reason and clue generating. It would be beneficial to have a more up to date model to ensure our hints are accurate. Moreover, we would like to add more features to the game, such as telling the user their streak/how many days in a row they have completed the SUSearch. Another feature we would add in future is a leaderboard of scores so users can compete online and see the top SUSearch player scores.