Suggesting other names than Alice and Bob is part of a drive to use more diverse examples. Security is not just for Alice and Bob, but also for Anita and Bilal, and many others.

Far from a new question, see also: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/09/replacing_ali...

> in the latest decolonisation drive

This is a comment by the narrator and not a political argument presented by the activists. Arguments on the "pro" side have apparently been quoted from a university communique, while the "contras" have been individually interviewed for arguments.

It is common in journalism (i would say ethical, but i'm not familiar with that domain's standards) when interviewing people criticizing "something", to also interview people who agree with "something" (or are responsible for it) and ask them about those critiques.

> Removing X from does not make something less Yish unless X is inherently Yish.

Noone suggested calling two characters "Alice" and "Bob" was "inerhently" colonialist. It is suggested that always naming them that way, and not leaving room for other personas, hinders the capability of people from a different cultural background to identify with the characters (though it does not nullify it).

Being more flexible about names in scenarios is a drive for diversity, which is correlated with a drive for decolonization. Decolonization does entail making the global north more aware that other civilizations/cultures have existed and continue to exist on this planet, which can be helped by using more diverse characters.

That does not mean that naming your characters Alice and Bob is inherently colonialist, or that naming them Abdel and Barbara is inherently anti-colonialist. Human and political context matters.