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By Charlotte Harding, Head of Careers
Professor Luca Viganò, Vice-Dean (Enterprise and Engagement) of the Faculty of Natural and Mathematical Sciences and Head of the Cybersecurity research group at King’s College London, visited Bedales this term to speak to Senior School students at the second of three extended Jaws.
In an engaging and accessible talk, Luca shared his passionate belief that to explain cybersecurity to users, we need to change both the narrative and the language we use. He explained this is a reciprocal act: on one hand, security concepts need to be explained in ways that humans can understand ("human learning"), and on the other, security experts must learn from users’ behaviour and experiences to design better systems ("learning of humans").
Luca reflected on his ongoing research involving psychologists, social scientists and humanists as he told his Fairy Tales of Cybersecurity and AI to a rapt audience of Bedalians. He used well-known stories to illustrate complex cybersecurity concepts, revealing how Cinderella is a lesson in two-factor authentication, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves highlights the risks of eavesdropping and Pinocchio raises ethical questions about artificial intelligence.
The talk was originally featured at the first King’s Festival of Artificial Intelligence, an event that brings together experts to explore critical questions about AI. Luca is both a Professor of Computer Science and a playwright, and as such works at the intersection of the arts and the sciences, using popular culture to engage audiences with digital security challenges.
A lesson in authentication
The story of Cinderella became a vivid illustration of multi-factor authentication. In contrast with a dry Transport for London (TfL) update on Oyster card security, Luca used clips from film adaptations of the fairytale to bring the concept to life.
Drawn in by clips from Georges Méliès’ 1899 adaptation, we understood that the glass slipper could be used independently to authenticate something you are – Cinderella's foot size alone seems to confirm her identity. However, Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods challenges this idea, as her stepmother chops her daughter’s foot to fit, revealing the flaws of relying on a single authentication factor. Returning to Méliès, we watched Cinderella produce something she has – the matching glass slipper – as a second layer of authentication, proving her identity beyond doubt. Walt Disney reminded us that even if we forget our password, we have a chance to recover it. When the first slipper is smashed to smithereens in Disney’s 1950 adaptation, Cinderella produces the matching slipper, demonstrating that even if access is lost, there are ways to restore it.
Cybersecurity as fairytales
Throughout the talk, Luca explored cybersecurity concepts such as biometrics, one-time passwords, authentication by reputation and the risks of coercion, using stories as varied as Puss in Boots, Ali Baba, Homer’s Odyssey and Peppa Pig to share them.
In conclusion, Luca suggested that existing artworks can be powerful tools for exploring cybersecurity and AI and that new creative works could be designed with this in mind. He closed the talk with a thought-provoking example – an invitation to watch his short film, The First, shown in the National Gallery’s AI Gallery. Set in the future where dangerous jobs are only given to machines, the film follows a young girl who must convince an assessor that she is a robot to achieve her dream of becoming a human pilot, raising questions about the role of humans in an AI-driven world.
Discussion and student reflections
The warmth and generosity Luca showed in giving his time to visit Bedales was matched by the enthusiasm of our students. Before the talk, Luca and his wife Alessandra Di Pierro – an associate professor specialising in quantum computing at the University of Verona – were given a tour of the School by Block 4 (Year 10) students Sam and Ed. Alessandra was particularly excited to learn that Sir Roger Penrose, Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), had delivered the annual Eckersley Lecture at Bedales in 2014.
During Jaw itself, students listened intently, applauded warmly and asked thoughtful questions about both cybersecurity and the art of playwriting. At handshaking, many students thanked Luca for his talk in Italian.
Later, A Level Computer Science students Hal and Can joined a lively supper discussion on topics ranging from data scraping and AI bias to DeepThink and chess. Their discussions demonstrated their curiosity about a subject they had read widely about, and Hal went on to share his ambitions to broaden and deepen our discussion of AI within the Bedales community.
A special mention must go to Block 3 (Year 9) student Seb, who paused after handshaking to discuss the merits of fables as an alternative vehicle to fairytales for explaining cybersecurity concepts. Luca later remarked that he has only occasionally been asked this before – and only by university students.
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