Moonlighter (The Company, #1)(47)
“Good.”
The gentleman in charge of this event—the same one Alex reamed the other night—is up on stage. “Tonight, we welcome a special guest. Alexandra Engels is the President and CEO of Engels Media Communications. At the age of twenty-nine, Alex became the youngest female CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Before that, she earned a B.S. at Harkness College, followed by double Master's Degrees in Business and Computer Programming at MIT.
“Now she’s busy proving to the world that cable companies are no longer boring little utilities, but innovative tech companies in their own right. We’re honored that Alex chose to make a major product announcement at the Oahu Conference…”
I lean over and give her a kiss on the cheek. “Knock ‘em dead, hot stuff. I’m pulling for you.”
She gives me a soft look. “Thank you.” Then she pushes back her chair and prepares to stand up at the right moment.
“Please welcome to the podium Ms. Alexandra Engels.”
The applause is loud. Alex rises, making her way up a few steps to the stage. She takes the microphone in hand with the confidence of a pop star.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s my pleasure to be here in Hawaii. And I’ve brought a friend—someone I’ve been waiting two years to introduce. Please say hello to my Butler. His name is Bingley.”
There’s more applause while Alex steps out from behind the podium, microphone in hand, and over to a cart draped with a black cloth. She lifts it to reveal a metallic orb. It’s titanium, with a fine mesh surface. “Hello, Bingley,” she says. “Apologies for the blanket.”
“I don’t mind the dark, but I do feel somewhat emasculated,” he explains.
The audience roars.
“I’m truly sorry,” Alex says. “Can we talk?”
“Absolutely,” the virtual butler says smoothly. “But if you don’t mind, please verify your identity first.”
“Don’t you recognize my voice?” Alex asks.
“Naturally! But there are quite a few people in this room, and I need to know who I’m serving.”
Alex places her palm on top of the orb for a moment.
“Thank you, Miss Alex! How may I serve you?”
“Well, everyone else is eating dinner, but I didn’t get a chance. What are the most highly rated restaurants on Oahu? Could you look that up for me?”
“One moment, my queen.”
The audience roars again. I glance around the room at all the tech geeks, and every face is turned toward Alex. My gaze snags on her ex, sitting a few tables away from me. He looks enthralled.
But who wouldn’t be? Alex and Bingley go on together like a two-man act. He recommends some restaurants and offers to call them. It’s clear that everyone is charmed. “That will be all, Bingley,” she says while they’re still chuckling. “I’ll call you if I need you.”
“Certainly, my liege! Just don’t cover me with—”
She drops the black cloth over him again.
“Blast it!”
As the laughter dies down, she takes her place behind the podium. “Charming fellow, isn’t he? Bingley’s AI brain was developed by my friend Nate Kattenberger at K-Tech. The Butler contains terrific technology, well executed. He’s the best smart speaker to come to the market and a joy to have around. Although, I wonder how many executives in this audience would tell me that the market for smart speakers is crowded. Am I right?”
The audience gets quiet.
“The Butler’s price tag will be well over three hundred dollars. Whereas you can get a cheap smart speaker for fifty bucks right now. So, you might ask yourself why I went to all the trouble. The answer—I promise you—is much bigger than Bingley’s hunky British accent.”
There’s a murmur of uncomfortable chuckling.
“The Butler is a very different product than others on the market. It’s what Bingley won’t do that’s truly innovative.” She holds up two fingers in turn. “He won’t let you down—not without a fight—and he won’t tell anyone your personal information, your search history, or your thoughts and dreams.”
She taps thoughtfully on the podium. “We are at a crossroads in consumer tastes and preference. Gone are the days when consumers blindly put their trust in the latest slick app or gadget. The world is covered over with shiny apps. And the tech industry has widely abused its customers’ trust in the name of data mining and advertising.
“The next wave of consumer tech will be driven by two very important ideas—excellence and privacy.
“Excellence means creating a product that people will brag about owning. That’s the only kind of product I’m going to make. But excellence also means privacy. Our customers haven’t always valued their privacy highly enough. It’s partly their fault for choosing convenience over safety. But it’s mostly our fault for not disclosing the risks.
“Meanwhile, some of our colleagues have made woeful apps and products. Our failure to ask the big questions has led, for example, to a globally insecure banking system, hacked electrical grids, and misused facial recognition software. If we’re not careful, our societal legacy will be global chaos, wrongful arrests, and surveillance by abusive exes.”
I nearly choke on my sip of wine. She slipped that line right in there, smooth as silk. I can’t help myself. My eyes dart to Jared Tatum, just to see his reaction. But his face is as placid as it was before.