Page 84 of Ideal Life

Jody had the strongest reaction, rising up from her chair and throwing her pen down onto the conference table. “That’s completely against our philosophy! Even by framing the question the way you did, you’re acknowledging that feeding a ‘suggested product’ to a customer is not good for society overall. It’s good for advertisers and corporations.”

“It’s useful for the customer, though,” Phil, one of the other Omni engineers, said calmly.

“But in the grand scheme of things,” Jody said, “you’d be making the world worse.”

“Whoa, hold on,” Mike said. “That’s a bit harsh.”

Jody crossed her arms. “I get that you guys have to make a profit for the shareholders. That’s the way companies work, and I don’t begrudge you that; if you don’t make money, people lose jobs. And it’s true that Omni has made a lot of innovative tech. But there’s a line I think Big Tech companies should draw, and that’s not to do things that you can foresee will have a negative impact on humanity. I don’t think we need to be told to buy more stuff.”

“From another angle,” Jonathan said, “if I’m that customer you mentioned and my blood sugar is low, and I ask Ideal Life to search for something that is of optimal nutrition for me to eat, I want to be given unbiased options and then get to make that decision myself. I don’t want advertising dollars to make the decision for me, and especially without me realizing it’s happening.”

Talia, finally recovered from Mike’s reveal about their intention to serve ads to Ideal Life customers, wanted to know more. But to avoid putting him any more on the defensive, she pretended to play devil’s advocate.

“Let’s say,” Talia began, “that we did allow sponsored suggestions if they were labeled clearly. What is Omni’s plan? I feel like just having a pop-up notification saying, ‘It looks like you’re hungry. May I suggest shrimp nuggets from our partner Luigi’s Seafood Drive-Thru? It’s delicious, convenient, and only two dollars right now’ is, like Jonathan pointed out, a quick way to lose the trust of our customers. And if they don’t trust you, they’ll eventually dismiss your ads, and then you’ve not only tanked Ideal Life as a product but also the space for your ad revenue.”

Mike, Bonnie, Phil, and Marya looked at each other.

“What?” Jonathan asked.

“Well…” Mike said. “Omni has some plans for synergizing Ideal Life into our ecosystem.”

Jonathan rolled his eyes at the corporate speak. But Jody, who was still hovering over everyone seated, was a lot less composed about it. “You think using fake MBA words will create a smoke-and-mirrors effect that will distract us? Do we really seem that obtuse to you?”

“There is a plan!” Phil said, standing so he was now at eye level with Jody.

Talia wouldn’t get any information if the temperature in this conference room kept rising. “Hey, it’s okay, everyone. I know Omni has a plan. I met with their executive team not long ago, including their CEO, and it’s brilliant.”

Phil’s indignance deflated and he sat back down. “Oh. Good. So you already know.”

“Of course,” Talia bluffed. “We’re going to be part of Omni in a matter of weeks anyway. There’s no point in keeping secrets.”

Mike exhaled. “Yeah, good, good. I completely agree. With our acquisition of Ideal Life and CerebraLink, we’re all going to get to work on stuff that seems like science fiction. Combining Ideal Life’s understanding of psychology and behavior with CerebraLink’s implant communication technology… Advertising is small potatoes. We’re going to have so much fun. And you’re all getting Omni stock options as part of this deal, right? We’re going to get really rich integrating all this together.”

The scowl on Jody’s face could have melted the glass of the conference table. Then she stomped out of the room, and Jonathan—less volatile but just as disgusted—followed.

Mike’s brow furrowed. “What did I say? Isn’t the main point of working at a startup to hit it big and make a shit ton of money?”

“I’ll, um, go talk to them,” Talia said, although it was really an excuse for her to exit, too. She’d heard all she needed to know.

She found Jody crying softly at her workstation. Jonathan had his arm around her.

“Talia,” Jody said, “tell me it’s not true. Tell me you didn’t sell us out to an evil empire. Jonathan and I joined Ideal Life because we thought we were contributing to something good.” Her voice cracked on the last word.

“I swear I didn’t know that’s what they were up to,” Talia said, kneeling to be on the same level as Jody and Jonathan. “I was just bluffing in there to see what they would reveal.”

“So we don’t have to do it?” Jonathan asked. “Can we decide not to let them buy Ideal Life?”

Talia ran her hand through her hair. “We’d have to pay them a million dollars if we’re the ones to terminate the deal. That would bankrupt us.”

Jody blew her nose and wiped away some of her tears. “Too bad none of us have big social media accounts. We could’ve used one of Omni’s own networks to go viral about how they’re trying to use us to screw over humanity. I can imagine the public outrage, if only they knew.”

“Hey…” Jonathan said. “What about your sister, Talia? Isn’t she famous?”

But Talia shook her head. “I don’t want to use Libby like that. And besides, if it’s my sister who posts a video about this deal, it’s kind of obvious that the information came from me. Omni’s lawyers would be all over that to say it was my fault if the acquisition died because of it, and then we’d still need a million dollars to cover the termination fee.”

“Then we’re stuck.” Jody slumped in her chair, and Jonathan slouched, too, his head on her shoulder.

Talia, however, gasped and shot to her feet. “I have a different idea. But I’ll need your help.”