One time, thirty-five-year-old Amara had to lead an important online meeting from an empty office while the motion-sensor lights repeatedly decided she had left. She needed to present a new work plan to the executives, so she sat in a conference room, placed her laptop in front of her, and clicked “Join.” Beyond the glass wall, there was no one—just desks, a potted plant, and a coffee machine that had already provided all the support it could for one day.

On the third slide, the lights went out. Amara apologized, stood up, and waved both arms over the table. The lights returned, along with twelve attentive faces on her screen. She continued. Two minutes later, the room went dark again. This time Amara waved from her chair, but the sensor did not respond. She had to stand and take several firm steps toward the door while continuing to explain the budget.

After the third blackout, she moved the laptop to the end of the table, closer to the sensor. Now she only had to raise her hand occasionally to keep the lights on. Unfortunately, the meeting software interpreted this as the “raise hand” command. Each time, the host paused and asked whether Amara wanted to add something. She lowered her digital hand, resumed the presentation, and then raised her real one again to avoid sitting in darkness.

Finally, Amara switched on her phone’s flashlight, placed it beside the laptop, and finished the plan without further exercise. The executives approved the budget, the meeting ended on time, and the lights went out immediately after her goodbye. Amara gathered her things and left the conference room: the office finally had convincing proof that she really was gone.