The senator stared for a moment. ‘I just wonder, Mr Koss, whether you really believe what you’re saying? Whether you really have managed to persuade yourself that what you just said is true?’
Andrei stared back at him.
‘Because if you have, then, if you’ll excuse me for saying so, that’s a very idealistic view of what you’re running. Delusionally idealistic, Mr Koss. I doubt very much the people who are paying to use your program would see it like that. I doubt they would say this is a way to cut out impulse buys of their products.’
‘You would have to ask them, sir.’
‘Tell me, Mr Koss, does this IAP of yours identify itself as a program?’
‘No, Senator. That would defeat the purpose.’
‘That would defeat the purpose,’ repeated Sim slowly. ‘The purpose being to deceive people into thinking they’re talking to another person.’
‘The purpose being to provide a friendly, human-type interface for whatever interaction is happening.’
‘Do people realize they’re talking to a program?’
‘Most of them do not.’
‘Most of them do not,’ repeated the senator, letting the words linger in the air. ‘What if they do realize?’
‘Our research shows that most people continue to have a dialogue with it.’
‘I find that hard to believe.’
Andrei shrugged. ‘That’s what we find, Senator. At Fishbowl, we look at the numbers, sir. What our users do, how often they do it, anything that helps us understand how we can serve them better. Numbers don’t lie. People begin to treat it like they would treat anyone else on the network.’
‘So you’re saying this program becomes a kind of a friend?’
‘It depends how you define “friend”. What it does is it connects with people. I make no assumption about whether people want to connect with a program or not. If they do, why shouldn’t they? Fishbowl is about Deep Connectedness, Senator, in all its many forms. I believe with the IAP we have helped develop a new form.’
There was silence for a moment. Then the senator shook his head theatrically and heaved a deep sigh. ‘Mr Koss, I don’t know what’s worse. Selling by deception or making people think they’ve got a friend when it’s just a collection of wires.’
Andrei hesitated, wondering if the senator really didn’t get it. ‘The intelligent adaption program is a lot more than a collection of wires, Senator. The people who developed it are probably one of the world’s greatest collections of intellectual talent in their chosen fields ever brought together in one place.’
‘Mr Koss, I cannot tell you how sad that makes me feel. That such a collection of talent should have been brought together, as you say …’ he paused, with a sneer ‘… for this. To sell stuff through such deception.’
‘But this isn’t just about selling stuff. What I was trying to say before is the IAP has all kinds of other applications. Medical, educational, all kinds of remote services.’
‘Have you implemented any of these services?’
‘We’re working on further improvements that are necessary for these applications.’
‘Really?’ asked Sim disbelievingly.
‘Yes.’
‘Yet you manage to have implemented the program for selling purposes without them.’
‘The required functionalities are different. The other services need better audio and visual functionality.’
‘Mr Koss, I understand you’re in the process of an IPO. Surely if you plan to launch a new range of services with your Farming program, your investors will want to know about that.’
‘The prospectus covers everything we’re planning to do, Senator.’
‘This prospectus, Mr Koss?’ The senator held up a brick of a document, a copy of the Fishbowl IPO prospectus that had been released a fortnight previously, in keeping with the bankers’ schedule for a July 21 IPO. Then he slapped it down with a resounding thud, for effect. ‘I find very little in here on those functions you just described.’
‘If you turn to page eighty-seven, Senator, I believe you’ll find them.’
Sim turned the pages. ‘Oh, yes, I find a short paragraph saying that certain services of the company may in the future be deployed in telemedicine, education, legal advisory and other such fields. May be deployed. One paragraph in …’ – he checked the end of the document – ‘three hundred and twelve pages. I find an awful lot more than that on the revenues from advertising. Would you say that’s a fair summary?’
‘Quantitatively, probably.’
‘Well, I thought you look at the numbers, Mr Koss,’ said the senator sarcastically. ‘I thought you said that numbers don’t lie.’
Andrei took a breath. ‘Senator, the IAP is an enormous advance. I can say that because I didn’t develop it. I watched it, and it was extraordinary to see. It was an honour to bring the team together, an amazing team of linguists and artificial intelligence experts and brilliant programmers, many of whom are still with us and continue to develop the program today. In the future, others will take that knowledge and they’ll develop it further. The techniques and technologies we have developed will spread. Many of the individuals who worked with us have already moved to other labs. As Newton said, each of us stands on the shoulders of giants.’
‘Are you saying you’re a giant that others will stand on?’
‘No, sir. I meant—’
‘Are you comparing yourself to Newton?’
‘No, sir.’
‘Are you comparing your program to gravity?’
‘No, sir. Newton didn’t develop gravity, as we have developed a program. He perceived and codified its laws.’ Andrei paused. That didn’t sound right. It was as if he was saying that his achievement was more original that Newton’s. He tried to correct the impression. ‘Newton developed differential calculus. Nothing I have ever done would have been possible without that.’
Senator Sim stared at him, then shook his head again. ‘All this talk of giants, Mr Koss. All this talk of world-shaking advances. But all it really comes down to is a way of selling stuff. Selling stuff to people who don’t even know who’s talking to them. I don’t know how that makes you feel. If it was me, I’d feel sick every time I looked in the mirror.’
Andrei bit his lip, remembering what he had been told. This was going to be an exercise in swallowing hard and turning the other cheek. He was also aware that the senator was creating the exact impression the bankers sought from this hearing. They had told him that his job was to create an image of Farming as a commercial program, both as a way of protecting himself from accusations over national security and as a way of getting investors interested in the IPO. The senator from New Mexico was doing a fine job of it.
Diane McKenrick was getting impatient for exactly the same reason. She wasn’t interested in the commercial side. What committee did the senator think he was sitting on? Commerce?
‘Anything further, Senator?’ she asked pointedly.
‘No,’ said Sim.
‘Senator O’Brien? I believe the floor is yours.’
O’Brien, a tall, gaunt Democrat from Rhode Island, launched right into it. ‘How much money does Fishbowl make from advertising?’
McKenrick rolled her eyes.
‘I believe all the relevant numbers are in the prospectus,’ said Andrei, as he had been told to say in the coaching sessions he had received.
The senator, who also had a copy of the prospectus in front of him, ostentatiously turned the pages. Finally he stopped and jabbed his finger with a theatrical flourish. ‘So that would be … five point six billion dollars over the last year.’
‘I believe that’s our total revenue, Senator.’
‘In your oral statement, Mr Koss, you said nothing about advertising.’
‘Well, it’s in the prospectus, as I said. Naturally, we do make some money from advertising, that’s true.’
‘Some money? Approximately how much of that five point six billion in total r
evenue is from advertising?’
‘I believe all the relevant numbers are in the prospectus.’
‘So that would be five point one billion?’
Andrei nodded.
‘Let’s call it an even five billion, Mr Koss. Would you be happy if we called it an even five?’
‘If you want,’ murmured Andrei guardedly.
‘I wouldn’t say five billion is “some money”. I’d say it’s a whole lot of money. How much more do you think you’ll make once you license your IAP for other companies to use as an advertising vehicle?’
‘I don’t know, sir. I haven’t done that calculation.’
‘But it’s in your prospectus, as you seem to like to say. It says that you may license it.’
Andrei nodded. It did say that in the prospectus. Everyone seemed to assume that the program would be licensed, even though he had never planned to do that. He hadn’t wanted it mentioned in the prospectus, but the bankers had insisted it had to be listed because it was possible that Fishbowl would license it, and if the possibility was under discussion, it had to be included. It was only under discussion, Andrei had replied, because the bankers had insisted on discussing it. But the lawyers had said that unless he had decided irrevocably not to license it, now that it had been discussed, the bankers were right. If it wasn’t mentioned, and he did license the program, Fishbowl would be open to litigation from anyone who could concoct some kind of grievance over it.
‘You know what?’ said O’Brien. ‘It doesn’t matter. Even if you don’t license it, I’d say what you’ve got is a major advertising operation. Mr Koss, why don’t you come right out and admit it? All this talk about Deep Connectedness … No, sir – you’re an advertising executive. You’re probably just about the world’s biggest advertising executive. Maybe you started off idealistically, really wanting to help people make connections, but at some point you’ve turned into a cold, hard-headed businessman, a businessmen who’ll take this incredible collection of talent you’ve put together with the money you’ve got and turn them towards any commercial, profit-oriented activity you can find. That’s your motto, isn’t it? Isn’t that what this Farming program of yours proves? You and your team—’
‘I don’t accept that.’
‘Don’t accept what?’ retorted the senator, bristling with outrage.
‘Anything you just said.’
‘That you and your team will do anything to earn a buck? That you’re a hard-headed businessman? That you’re nothing but an advertising executive? What, Mr Koss? Which of those would you like to dispute?’
‘All of them!’ replied Andrei impulsively, forgetting everything he had been told in his coaching sessions and rising to the bait. Could the senator really not understand what he was trying to do with Fishbowl? Could no one see it but him? ‘Advertising means nothing to me. It just—’ He stopped as a ripple of laughter came from the audience behind him. He shook his head, reddening. ‘Advertising just happens.’
‘You’re saying that five billion dollars of stuff just happens, Mr Koss?’ said the senator.
‘That’s not what Fishbowl’s about. Honestly, if I could do it without the money …’ There was more laughter. ‘Look, Fishbowl is about Deep Connectedness, whether you think so or not. It’s about finding people you never would have found, making those connections, cutting across barriers of geography and language and culture and class and any other barriers that come between the essential things that we share. That’s a good thing, isn’t it? The world needs that, and the more it has of it, the better. And with the IAP, we’ll be able to do even more of that, in whole new ways. And that’s not a commercial thing. It never was. It’s about making the world more connected.’
‘And earning five billion as you do it.’
‘No!’ Andrei paused, breathing heavily. ‘That’s just …’ He stopped in frustration. ‘Look, it takes a lot of money to keep the infrastructure going and to reward the incredibly talented people who keep Fishbowl going. There’s a cost to that.’
‘Then presumably you made no profit on this five point six billion.’ O’Brien made a show of turning the pages in the prospectus. ‘No, actually, you did. Around three point eight billion. That’s three point eight billion more than you needed to keep the infrastructure going, as you describe it, and to keep the incredibly talented people together.’
Andrei stared at the senator, who stared right back at him, the eyes in his gaunt face burning with a kind of fierce energy.
Suddenly Andrei felt as if the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. He couldn’t get out of this. He knew he was being painted as a hypocrite and a liar, and searched frantically for a way to extricate himself, and he knew the only line he could take was the line the bankers had been pressing on him.
He hesitated, not wanting to have to say it.
‘Fishbowl is a business,’ he said at last, his voice muted.
‘What was that, Mr Koss?’
He looked up at the senator. ‘You’re right. Fishbowl is a business, sir.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I’m a businessman.’
‘You’ve changed your tune.’
‘I’m not ashamed of making three point eight billion dollars last year.’ The bankers had told him to be forthright and confident. ‘That’s the American dream, isn’t it, Senator? To start a business, to be successful. The shareholders in my company, when we do our IPO in six weeks’ time, are not going to be ashamed of me making three point eight billion for them. Perhaps you’ll be one of those shareholders, too.’
‘It looks like you’ll stop at nothing to make that money.’
‘No, that’s not so. Everything we do is legal. We have a motto at Fishbowl. In fact, two of them. First, don’t make the world a worse place. Second, tell no lies. In everything we do, we stick to those mottoes and we manage to make three point eight billion a year. I don’t think that’s a bad record. I think it’s pretty good.’
‘So it’s not about Deep Connectedness, then? All that stuff before was so much hokum.’
‘No, it is about Deep Connectedness. That’s what we’re offering.’
‘Selling.’
‘All right, selling. We’re a business, if you insist. We sell Deep Connectedness. People want that and it’s a good thing. It’s a very good thing for our world. And because people want it, advertisers come to us and say, “Can we talk to people through Fishbowl?” And we say yes. And that’s another form of Deep Connectedness, and they pay us for that.’
‘No, Mr Koss, you were right the first time. What you’re offering is Deep Connectedness. What you’re selling is your customers.’
Andrei stared at him, his heart thumping.
‘And you dupe your customers into thinking that the people who are buying them are their friends.’
‘I have one and half billion users.’ Andrei tried to control the quaver of anger in his voice. ‘That’s a quarter of the planet. Approximately nine hundred and fifty million of those people are on the site every day. If they didn’t like what we’re doing, Senator, they wouldn’t be there.’
‘So anything goes as long as people don’t object?’
‘Senator, I don’t set myself up to tell the world what it can and can’t do. I break no laws, and tell no lies. I’m not sure that everyone could say the same.’
The senator stared at him. ‘Have you ever come across a conflict, Mr Koss, between the needs of your business and the ideals you started with?’
‘Such as what, sir?’
‘Such as Farming, sir. Mr Koss, I marched in Providence on a certain Fourth of July a few years back. Do you know to what I’m referring?’
‘The Defence of Freedom marches?’
‘Yes. I marched that day. Did you?’
‘Yes. I marched in Boston.’
‘I marched in support of the Constitution, in support of free speech, and I marched in support of your ideal, Mr Koss. I marched in support of Deep Connectedness, as you describe it, so a person in Rhode Island co
uld find a person in Alabama who was interested in abolition of the death penalty and could work together on that. Or a person in Mississippi could find a person in Texas who was interested in improving the shameful state of our schooling system that this administration has allowed to crumble under its very feet. These are things that I know for a fact actually happened thanks to your network, Mr Koss. And I marched in support of you. I marched so you would have the freedom to pursue your ideal of Deep Connectedness – an ideal I believe in – without fear of prosecution. But you know what, Mr Koss? I didn’t march in support of this thing you call Farming. I didn’t march so that person in Rhode Island or Alabama or Mississippi or Texas would find someone who they thought was a person but was actually a program trying to sell them something.’
Andrei gazed at him, struggling for a response. ‘It might be something they need, Senator. A program that doesn’t just sell them stuff, but can learn about them, understand them, and present them with exactly what they need at exactly the right time. And, in most cases, at an improved price. Does that make the world a worse place, Senator?’
The senator let Andrei’s words hang. Then he shook his head. ‘You just don’t get it, do you, Mr Koss?’
Andrei frowned. He wished he hadn’t said what he had just said. Better to have stayed silent.
‘That’s the saddest thing about this whole sorry affair.’ The senator leaned forward. Although five yards separated them, Andrei felt as if he was peering at him from inches away. ‘What happened to you?’
Andrei swallowed. Nothing in the coaching sessions he had had over the past two weeks had prepared him for this. He wanted to say something but had no idea what. He felt belittled and humiliated and ashamed – but didn’t know how to defend himself. He could feel his face burning.
The silence went on.
‘Have you any other questions, Senator?’ said Diane McKenrick.
‘No,’ said Senator O’Brien. ‘I think I’ve heard about all I can bear to hear.’
‘Well, I have a few,’ said McKenrick, invoking her right as Chair to enter the proceedings when she chose. She had had enough of all these questions about advertising. She turned to Andrei. ‘You said you tell no lies, Mr Koss. You said your Farming program only gives factual information. Is that right, Mr Koss?’
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