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And wondering if I can sneak into the office where Heath is so we can make out a little. We’ve tried to keep this thing we have quiet around the new employees, but I’m sure they’ve noticed we often leave together. We’d hired Ria Basu and Ye Joon Park after Lydia had told us she whole heartedly approved of them, and so far they’ve been great.
I have to hope they’re not too observant when it comes to me and Heath though.
“We buy data that we think we can use, large amounts, and we let the AI learn from it.”
“Buy data?” Lydia asks.
“Yes.” This is the part not a lot of people like. Especially people who remember a time when privacy was a thing. “So companies on the web collect tons of data. You know the saying if you’re not paying for the product, you are the product? Well, this is where that truth comes into play. I buy a bunch of data from social networking and other sites, and that will serve as an education for the AI. How Heath programs that is what we will actually patent.”
“So you’ll teach the computer to match people up by letting it read Facebook posts?” Lydia seems a bit horrified at the idea.
“Not exactly, but you know that we can often learn things like what a person values from what they post.” I haven’t talked to her extensively about how she did her work. “I know you started back before computers were a thing, but in recent years did you use your clients’ social media to help you?”
“Somewhat,” Lydia replies. “I found it helps me to sort out who’s hedging on information to look good. Like the girl from the Bronx who swore she only listened to gospel music and then posted pictures of herself at a Metallica concert. She would have been miserable with the young man her mother wanted her to consider. Now she’s married to a guitarist and spends most of her time on the road. She seems happy. But seems is the critical word here. Often social media doesn’t show the whole picture.”
“No, and we’ll allow for that.” I glance down at the endless paperwork the lawyers have given me. They can do some of the work, but the description of processes is something only Heath or I can do, and he went a shade of green when he saw the stack. “But there’s valuable information in there, too. If Heath has set this up right, then the computer will learn to assign value properly, and that should offset some of the problems that come with socials. He’s quite brilliant, you know.”
That earns me a smile. “I do. He’s such a bright young man, and I wish he wasn’t using all his skill on something that can’t work.”
I’m surprised because this woman is almost always positive. “Why do you think it can’t work? It’s not exactly new technology. I mean the way he’s going about it is, but there’s been matchmaking apps for ages. Some have quite a good rate of success.”
She shakes her head and puts the paper down. “But Heath isn’t looking to do what they do. He’s looking to do what I do. It’s not the same. I don’t simply match people up. I feel a connection between two people. Or three. That was a very odd job. I knew something was wrong between the couple, and then I met his best friend and realized what was missing. Live and let live, I say.”
I kind of want that story, but I charge forward with the question that comes to mind. “Then why fill out all the paperwork?”
She made me go through her whole process of filling out about fifty pages of preferences and questions about my childhood and if I make my bed when I wake up. The answer is a resounding no because I’m just going to get back in it. Making beds is for people who have way more time and energy than me.
Like Heath. He’s a bedmaker. At least he’s done it all the mornings I’ve woken up beside him. I’ve spent a lot of time at his place in the last couple of weeks, and we’d gone over much of this stuff while lying on that bed together.
It’s probably the dumbest thing I could do, but I can’t help it. I’m drawn to that man, and I’m going to pretend like it’s all normal and won’t blow up in my face.
“Because sometimes I need clues so I know who to get into a room together, and then I’ll know if it can work. The first meeting is always supervised. Usually the clients bring their parents or siblings or a close friend along to that first meeting. I’ll feel that spark if they should be together. Even when the two people don’t feel it themselves, I know. The computer can’t replace human instinct.”
