It comes in a small box about 20 centimetres cubed, just a bit bigger than a tissue box. The top and the two non-functional sides are covered with an appealing light wood veneer and there is a matching handle on top. This is the two way model. Four, six and eight way models are also available but they are a bit bigger. There are also devices that work with multiple interfaces at anyone time but these can be prohibitively expensive and difficult to operate as the algorithms are difficult to develop.
The two remaining sides which are opposite each other are covered with an array of devices and sensors, identical on each side. There is a camera with a high definition lens that can recognise the tiniest of facial movements supported by a laser eye scanner that measures the dilation of the pupils. To the left of this, as you look at the device, is an olfactory sensor that can detect minute quantities of pheromones and other airborne chemicals and then further along is a humidity detector to measure the amount of perspiration on the surface of the skin. A second camera is positioned above the first but this one operates in the infrared part of the spectrum and measures surface temperature of the body. Finally, at the top right of each side is a sensitive microphone that picks up speech.
All of these sensors pass information constantly into the multiple high speed processors inside the machine which churn the information and analyse it from every possible angle. Speech is monitored for intonation, rapidity, nervousness and the words used are compared to an enormous database of vocabulary to check for aggressiveness, passiveness, fear, loathing and other emotions. The temperature of the skin, the amount of sweat and the quantity of hormones exuded are the tells that give away the person’s true emotions while the face recognition software detects the indiscernible flickers of doubt and untruth.
On top of the box is a small wireless aerial which pushes output data to a laptop, handheld device or even a printer if a hard copy is preferable.
So what is the purpose of this device? It sounds quite simple but it is a wonder of modern science and ingenuity. The device is placed on a table in-between two people who want to enter into a negotiation such as a sales transaction, where one would be the buyer and the other the seller. Hundreds of times a second it analyses the two individuals, calculates the strengths and weaknesses of their negotiating positions and relays them to the other person. After a while and through discussion the machine achieves equilibrium where the positions of the two negotiators have reached equality. The seller has arrived at a point where they are making a reasonable return on their capital investment, sufficient to cover their costs and put a little aside for future investment and recognition of risk. The buyer has arrived at a position where they are being asked to pay a reasonable amount that is in line with the value that they attribute to those particular goods.
By using this machine, The Equaliser, no one gets ripped off, no one gets stiffed, no one gets to be a fat cat or walks away with an unfair advantage. No one leaves the table feeling let down or undermined. The position of the meek and cautious is levelled with that of the sharp and arrogant. It is a machine of fairness that feeds off the individual’s characteristics to set the final negotiating position. With different individuals it arrives at a different point of equilibrium as the needs and aspirations of everyone are never the same.
It is a fabulous device that ensures fairness, a sense of openness and a feeling of ownership in any negotiation and is well worth its moderate price, the only problem is that it has not yet been invented.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 