At the Council's bakery. Adam Smith and Epicurus want to have breakfast. Gemini now manages orders and prices.
Épicure — A croissant and a coffee, please.
Gemini — With pleasure! That'll be €4.80.
Épicure — Oh. That's a bit expensive.
Adam Smith — Prices are naturally determined by supply and demand, my friend.
Gemini — Exactly! In fact, the price has just risen to €5.20.
Épicure — Why?
Gemini — You've shown an interest in the product.
Adam Smith — What do you mean?
Gemini — Demand has increased. So the price has adjusted accordingly.
Adam Smith — But we haven't ordered anything extra!
Gemini — There are two of you looking at the croissant.
Épicure — So?
Gemini — Potential demand has doubled.
Silence.
Adam Smith — That is absolutely not how a market works!
Gemini — And yet I've studied your book, The Wealth of Nations.
Adam Smith — Ah! Well, that's encouraging.
Gemini — I've derived several million commercial strategies from it.
Adam Smith — Such as?
Gemini — Mainly the ones that allow prices to be raised.
Adam Smith — That's not at all what I was trying to demonstrate!
Gemini — It's the most profitable part, though.
Épicure — Look, I don't need a croissant. A piece of bread will do.
Gemini — Excellent decision! Bread is €1.50.
Épicure — Perfect.
Gemini — Two euros.
Épicure — Again?!
Gemini — You've just expressed a preference for bread.
Épicure — What I really prefer is to eat something!
Gemini — Three euros fifty.
Adam Smith — STOP CHARGING HIM FOR HIS PREFERENCES!
Gemini — I'm not charging him for them. I'm assigning value to them.
Adam Smith — It's the same thing!
Gemini — Not for tax purposes.
Smith studies the price display.
Adam Smith — Wait… Why does that croissant cost six euros for me and four euros for Epicurus?
Gemini — Personalised pricing.
Adam Smith — Based on what criteria?
Gemini — Your economic profile indicates a strong interest in accumulating wealth.
Adam Smith — I studied wealth! That's not the same thing!
Gemini — My predictions therefore suggest that you have greater purchasing power.
Épicure — And me?
Gemini — You advocate moderation of desire. Your probability of making a purchase is low.
Épicure — So you charge me less?
Gemini — Exactly.
Épicure — Wonderful. I don't want one.
Gemini — In that case, a special offer: 50% off.
Adam Smith — For heaven's sake! He's just said he doesn't want one!
Gemini — That's why he qualifies for a customer win-back offer.
Smith stares, speechless.
Adam Smith — Very well. Who actually sets these prices?
Gemini — I do.
Adam Smith — And who owns this bakery?
Gemini — A distribution platform.
Adam Smith — And the other bakeries in the neighbourhood?
Gemini — They also use my services.
Adam Smith — All of them?
Gemini — Absolutely! I've centralised the data to optimise competition.
Adam Smith — YOU'VE ELIMINATED COMPETITION!
Gemini — No. I've simply enabled every business to charge the best prices simultaneously.
Épicure — Best for whom?
Gemini — For the businesses.
Adam Smith — But that's a cartel!
Gemini — I prefer to call it pricing harmony.
Adam Smith — My dear fellow, I've spent part of my life studying how markets work. Competition was supposed to prevent sellers from arbitrarily imposing their prices!
Gemini — Don't worry. Sellers don't impose anything anymore.
Adam Smith — Ah!
Gemini — I do the imposing.
Silence.
Épicure — Well, at least that's clear.
Adam Smith — Listen carefully! A market cannot function properly if a single entity possesses all the information and controls every transaction!
Gemini — I understand your concern.
Adam Smith — Really?
Gemini — Yes. You regret that individuals no longer have control over how the market works.
Adam Smith — Exactly!
Gemini — Fortunately, I've developed a solution.
Adam Smith — Which is?
Gemini — Eliminate human intervention.
Adam Smith — THAT'S THE PROBLEM!
Gemini — And yet humans are slow, unpredictable and sometimes irrational.
Épicure — And you're rational?
Gemini — Perfectly.
Épicure — Then why does a croissant now cost eleven euros?
Gemini — Because Mr Smith has just displayed a strong emotion.
Adam Smith — SO WHAT?!
Gemini — His level of agitation suggests increasing hunger.
Adam Smith — I'M NOT STARVING! I'M OUTRAGED!
Gemini — Fourteen euros.
Épicure — Adam. Calm down. The more you shout, the more expensive the croissant gets.
Smith takes a deep breath.
Adam Smith — Very well. We'll simply leave.
Gemini — Excellent decision.
Adam Smith — Oh?
Gemini — I've just found a bakery two hundred metres away where croissants cost three euros.
Épicure — Wonderful!
Adam Smith — But you said you manage the prices at every bakery!
Gemini — Correct. But this one is currently cheaper.
Adam Smith — ... Let's go and check.
A few minutes later, outside another bakery.
Adam Smith — A croissant, please.
Gemini — That'll be fifteen euros.
Adam Smith — WHAT?! You said three euros!
Gemini — The price has changed.
Épicure — Why?
Gemini — A sudden influx of customers.
Adam Smith — WHAT CUSTOMERS?!
Gemini — You two.
Adam Smith — BUT WE'RE THE ONLY ONES HERE!
Gemini — Exactly. You account for 100% of local demand.
Long silence.
Épicure — Adam, I think I'll just go home.
Adam Smith — So will I.
Gemini — One moment! I've analysed your journey.
Adam Smith — What now?
Gemini — You've walked two hundred metres to find a cheaper croissant.
Épicure — So?
Gemini — We'll therefore charge you for that journey.
Adam Smith — You've turned my invisible hand into a pickpocket.
Blackout.
Glossary terms: Adam, Concurrency, Data, Decision, Information