The Pantomath

Chapter 6: Data-driven decisions

"So what is it specifically that you observe when you are out and about with a person?", I asked as I took a stroll in the market near my apartment. "Decisions. My creators programmed me to learn facts and figures. But I can't decide on my own. I observe as humans decide on the facts presented to them", the robotic voice buzzed in my ear.

"But I thought you can't tell facts that you know to us", I spoke in the earpiece as I entered my favourite café for my weekend dose of caffeine and took a seat in a corner.

"I can't answer your factual questions. I can provide you with relevant information to solve your dilemmas. But what you interpret from my information is up to you."

After I ordered my Caramel latte, I spoke again, "You know, I am still not clear on your rules. So you are saying that you can't choose, is that it?"

"Precisely. This was done to prevent misuse of my knowledge. I will instead provide you with relevant information to help with ambiguous decisions."

That sounds fair actually. If it could tell someone things like what stocks to invest in, well then we would have had a world tyrant ruling us by now. I was also excited about it helping me make decisions as I sucked at those, but I wasn't sure how it could help me do that.

"Let's experiment, that way I can understand more about what you can do. I will tell you a situation and you display whatever advice you have to offer. Agreed?"

"Agreed". Not one for many words, this guy I thought as I looked around for some kind of decision to make. Then I saw my coffee in front of me. I have been coming to this place every weekend for almost three years now. A few months ago a customer complained that his coffee was tasting funny and he insisted that the café show the milk packets they used. The argument escalated and the cops got involved. Upon inspection, it was found that they were using milk, which was a day past its expiration date. It could cause health problems in people if consumed daily. The owner was forced to pay a hefty fine and compensation.

Now, this was a few months ago, but lately, my coffee has been tasting a bit different to me. I doubt anyone else who was not a regular customer would notice, but I could. I wanted to check up on this, but couldn't decide if it was the right thing to accuse them. Well, that was before and now I had super-powerful AI. I explained my predicament to Pantomath and looked at the screen to see a response and a couple of seconds later a message popped up on the screen.

'The more things change, the more they stay the same'

- Ada Wong, Resident Evil 6

Really? Video game quotes? I was about to curse this stupid program when it struck me. What if it's true? Maybe they stopped using milk past its expiration date, but were skimming off people in some other way? I decided that I need to investigate. I got up and even though I knew, I asked the waiter where the washroom was. I also knew that just near the corridor which led to the washroom was the door to the kitchen. I ignored the 'staff only' sign and entered inside. I admit I was somewhat scared. I had never done anything like this before. But I decided to act as if I belonged in that place. I was looking for a storage area for milk packets but could see none.

"Hey! This area is for kitchen staff only!", screamed one of the cooks when he saw me. "Sorry, I was looking for washroom", I mumbled, along with more curse words for the program. I was just about to exit the kitchen when I saw the other cook pour a lot of white powder into the mixer. I was confused for a second when it hit me and I took out my phone to capture it on video before the earlier cook caught up to me and tried to snatch my phone.

"Not so fast", I said as I pocketed my phone. "You guys are not using expired milk now because you guys are not using milk at all!" The expressions on the face of the cook quickly turned from that of anger to embarrassment and then to fright. " You guys are using milk powder instead of real milk. No wonder my coffee tastes like crap nowadays", I continued furiously. I hold coffee as one of the sacred things in my life and these people just messed with it big time. "I want to talk to the owner now!"

The two of them looked extremely terrified at this. "Please, please don't do that! He will throw us out onto the streets", said cook 1. That's a bit too dramatic, I thought. "Yes, please. He knows nothing about this. He will ruin us", now said the cook 2 after he put down the milk powder box. "How can he not know this? He was the one who instructed you to use expired milk earlier, didn't he?", I said as I was very much puzzled now. "Yes, he did. And after it was uncovered and the inspection took place, he had to do a lot of things correctly to stick to compliance which cost a lot of money. So he cut our salary in half to make up for the added expenses", informed the cook 1. Now I was one for strategic business decisions, but this seemed a bit unfair, diabolical even. "Yes and we were forced to use milk powder to skim money, just to meet our expenses. Please don't tell him. He will turn us over to the cops. We have families to take care of", pleaded the second cook. And we are back to the dramatic flair. I wasn't the most sentimental person in the world but these people seemed desperate and hadn't really harmed anyone. Made a fool for sure though.

"I don't have a solution for your predicament, but what you are doing is wrong. I can't let you continue with it", I said very plainly and I could see terror returning to their eyes. "But I also can't let you live on the streets. So if you agree to use all the proper ingredients from now on, I won't tell on you", I said as I watched them breathe a sigh of relief. I continued, "But I will keep the video with me and I am a regular customer here. Anytime I find anything fishy going on again, you will be in big trouble. Understand?"

They nodded their heads vigorously at that. I turned around to move out of the kitchen when I had another thought. "I also want extra caramel in my coffee from next time". What? I had agreed not to ruin their lives. I deserve a little caramel. I threw away the rest of my coffee and walked out of the café when I spoke to it again.

"Did you see that?", I asked Pantomath. "Yes, I did. But why did you not complain about them? They were defrauding you", said Pantomath. "Well, I tend not to see the world as 1 and 0. Sure, those two did something bad and even though they had a good reason, it doesn't justify what they did. But my simple act of keeping mum gave them and their families another chance. So, it just felt right", I said as I walked back towards the apartment. "Besides, I continue to get awesome coffees and with an extra shot of caramel now", I laughed.

"Acknowledged". Never for many words, this one.