Help, I'm stuck in a time loop!
This tweet has been doing the rounds and it reminded me of two (relatively) recent time travel TV episodes.
The first is Quantum Leap (2022) S01E18 'Judgement Day' and we learn Jenn created a code word for herself, "Turtle Time", in case she became a leaper and needed to confirm her identity. The second was in Star Trek: Discovery S05E04 'Face the Strange', a time loop episode when Reno boldly asks Stamets "Are you stuck in a time loop, Stamets?"1.
The time traveller, clone, or doppelgänger tropes are fun and frequent flyers in science fiction, but why save the code word (or 'recognition phrase' or the espionage fans) for fictional scenarios when being able to verify your identity to yourself or close family and friends, or have a distress word (or safeword) to exit less than optimal situations are very real-world scenarios2?
As a parent, one safety paradigm shift we've been told about is the transition from 'stranger danger' to 'tricky people'3 and teaching your child to identify behaviours that don't seem quite right. For example, an acquaintance or stranger may tell your child "Your mum/dad can't make it and have asked me to take you home." While there are safety measures in place at schools and daycares to mitigate against this kind of thing, a code word or recognition phrase that you've pre-arranged with your child would help them to verify the legitimacy of the person or arrangement if they can't reach you directly.
If the arrangement is real, it could be as simple as the person doing the pickup saying the code word directly, or if you want or need something more subtle, they could be instructed to respond to a recognition phrase that seems innocuous but would cue there was something amiss if handled incorrectly. As an example, the child might ask "Can I play with Bluey this weekend?" and the correct response would be, "No, but you can watch Mulligrubs4."
Another common kid one once they're a bit older is the distress word call or text if they need an emergency extraction. A check-in call by a parent could give the child an opportunity to use a phrase like "I miss [sibling/pet]." as a request to come home from a sleepover that's not going as expected. Or an older child with a mobile phone could send a distress word via text that would prompt a check-in call about a fabricated family emergency that warrants the parent coming to get them5.
In the age of the 'grandparent scam' and other AI-generated voice scams it's all the more reason to have a code word or recognition phrase to share with close friends and family to verify your identity in the event they encounter a vocal clone. As with other scams, they'll apply stress and time pressures to push for rapid action and override most people's usual ability to respond rationally to a situation. But a simple code word or recognition phrase can cut through the psychological manipulation and social engineering.
Choose something appropriate for the person or people with whom you are making the arrangement, that you'll all remember, and that isn't likely to be scrape-able from your digital footprint.
And really, it's only a matter of time before we get to video deepfake scams along the same vein, so perhaps it won't be too long before we encounter our visual clones or doppelgängers after all.
Or even our future time-travelling selves. Who knows? You certainly will, if you have a code word.
STEAM Powered
Two episodes have been released since our last musing, and we spoke with Bec Nguyen, UX research and inclusive digital experience specialist about building compassionate tech in the health space and advocating for diverse voices.
Most recently, we also had a chat with Joanna Beveridge, producer, writer, and director with a background in nuclear medicine, about attitudes towards trust and failure between STEMM and the creative industries, representation and stealth politics in film and television, and finding a balance with AI tools and the creative process.
Quite Interesting
What Harvey Weinstein’s Overturned Conviction Means for Donald Trump’s Trial | The New Yorker presents some interesting contestable areas in criminal law around the exclusion of evidence of past bad acts to demonstrate a propensity for crime as well as the exceptions to this rule. Like for sex crimes, which isn't adopted in all jurisdictions. Read the article for more detail, but it adds an interesting (though not terribly favourable) complexity to these cases.
Free report: AI in the TV and movie creation and value chain: I recently attended a webinar held by Ampere Analysis about AI in the TV and movie creation and value chain. They presented a reasonably comprehensive overview of the state of the art of AI-related services that can be applied in the television and film industry from the initial ideation and writing, to market and potential performance analysis for green-lighting projects, production and post-production and the potential and risks involved in using these tools.
Joanna Beveridge and I have spoken previously, and also in our conversation about the scope of using AI for administrative work and what can be loosely and subjectively described as 'scut work' to allow productions to operate more efficiently and effectively in other aspects of the value chain for the good of the production as well as for the people. We're still processing these ideas and thoughts but there really is so much potential for improving often overlooked areas in the creative industries that aren't just about replacing talent for cheaper options.
If you're interested, the free report linked above is what this seminar was based on, though be warned, it is behind a contact form.
Hill House is a beautiful masterpiece of architecture and design by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh. Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect and designer whose work is iconic in Glasgow Style and Art Nouveau (and one of my favourites). Unfortunately, the materials and techniques used to construct the house have not been able to withstand a century of Scottish weather, and the house was effectively dissolving. A conservation programme called the Hill House Box has encased the house in a chainmail mesh to protect the house from the rain and allow it to dry out in a controlled fashion. Both the house and the conservation method are incredibly innovative and I would very much like to visit one day.
Events & Announcements
One of the things that has kept me occupied between STEAM Powered releases is Amelia Travers (@amaltr42) (host of Avid Research) and my session submission for SXSW Sydney 2024.
We're co-hosting a new micro-podcast called NepoPod around mindful nepotism and creating real connections within our networks to find out what really matters to them, and to elevate the people we know to help them to succeed.
We created a reel on LinkedIn about mindful nepotism for #design_mayday, a wonderful concept by Marius Foley to amplify ideas around human-centred design, knowledge systems and all the transformative initiatives around these spaces.
This idea around positive and constructive nepotism is the foundation of our workshop "Channelling Your Inner Nepo - Networking for fun and profit" where we will share more about how you can channel your powers of influence for good, empower others, and help your network to thrive.
Voting on SXSW sessions has closed, but if we make it in, you'll see us presenting at SXSW Sydney this year.
Bec Nguyen also submitted a panel about cultivating diversity and BIPOC support in STEM. I'll be one of the panellists, so if this one is accepted, you'll find me here as well!
Thanks for reading, and see you next time!
Stay curious.
— Michele
Footnotes
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Good on you Reno, cut through the crap. ↩
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And not just for BDSM. ↩
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There are several sources for this if you Google the two terms. ↩
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Mulligrubs is an old and esoteric choice that the tricky person is hopefully unlikely to pull out of thin air. Also, that disembodied face. ↩
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The truth is always preferable, but there may be situations where a lie might be necessary. This isn't about judgement, it's about having options in case they are needed. The important thing here is the safety and peace of mind of the person making the request. ↩