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In a gleaming high-rise, where designers craft empty words for tech giants, he knows the truth about brands. He walks into a boardroom uninvited, facing down Amazon executives who think they understand the future. They don’t. He has seconds to change their minds. “Amazium” is a kinetic short story about the power of one perfect word. What drives a man to risk everything on a single moment? And what happens when that moment arrives? 2,000 words / 8 minutes of rapid-fire reading pleasure Keep scrolling to read online.
‘Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.’ T. S. Eliot STEFANO BOSCUTTIAMAZIUMCopyright 2024 Stefano Boscutti
All Rights Reserved I know what you’re thinking. That I’ve told the driver to stop by my girlfriend’s high-rise so I can rush upstairs and grab some drugs before I get dropped off to rehab downtown. Yes, I’ve told the driver to stop outside the mixed-use high-rise with uptown retail at ground level then a stack of offices topped with overpriced apartments. But I’m not going to her apartment because I’ve already picked up all the drugs I need from my place. It’s not my first time at rehab. And I’m not doing any shopping either. I’m calling into a branding studio on the seventh floor. It’s called Pen. Started by a bunch of designers and copywriters who left Pentagram during the pandemic to open their own shop. They specialise in branding and naming for the technology sector. It’s a smart move for a studio made up of designers and copywriters who aren’t that talented. Technology has a very low bar when it comes to branding and naming. Most tech companies are happy to bind some alphanumeric initials together and be done with it. The only good idea Pen ever had they couldn’t even sell to the client. Prefix every Elon Musk company with a lowercase x. You know, so Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company, Neuralink becomes xTesla, xSpace, xBoring, xNeuralink. X becomes x. Prefix every company with a single, infinite letter so all the brands promote, strengthen and build on each other. Elon took Pen’s naming idea for his AI company which he called xAI but couldn’t see the point of applying it across the board. If the so-called creatives at Pen had pitched him the naming idea by renaming countries and markets like xAmerica, xEngland, xAfrica, xGermany, xAustralia and planets - starting with xMars - Musk would have arrived at renaming his companies by himself. He would have thought he’d come up with the idea. That’s what a good creative director does. Even a good freelance creative director like me. Lead the client to the water and then make them thirsty. Make them think they’ve come up with the idea all along all by themselves. There’s no better - or surer way - to get your idea bought. But the past few weeks have been a little rough around the edges. Okay, crazy and a bit out of hand hence the need for rehab for a week to reset everything. And normally I don’t fly into presentation meetings uninvited. But I’m making an exception this time. Why? Because I don’t think I’m going to get another chance. Once they stamp the brandname on that AI chip, it’s over. When we arrive outside the high-rise, I tell the driver to keep the car running because I’m only going to be a couple of minutes. I take the service elevator on the left of the lobby because I don’t have a lanyard or key card to pass through the turnstiles. I get out on the seventh floor and recognise the security guard. Reach into my pocket, pull out a small plastic bag of white crystalline powder, whisper in his ear and hand it over. He takes it with a nod and a smile, and walks away. I walk straight past the reception desk and down the glassed-walled offices to where I can see the creatives and three senior Amazon executives in the end boardroom. I open the glass door and sail in. Brad is standing at the head of the boardroom table in mid-presentation, surprised. ‘What are you doing here?’ ‘Saving you from yourself.’ I smile and nod at the somewhat startled Amazon executives. ‘You don’t know me do you?’ They look confused. Brad looks at me annoyed. ‘You need to leave.’ ‘Brad, I don’t want to be rude but the brandname you came for Amazon’s new AI chip is shit.’ ‘You need to leave right now.’ One of the Amazon executives speaks. ‘We’re very happy with the brandname Trainium 2. It researched incredibly well.’ Another Amazon executive nods in agreement and speaks. ‘The name was developed with AI.’ ‘It’s a stupid brandname. Maybe if you’re selling gym equipment but for an AI chip to go up against Nvidia’s Blackwell? It’s ridiculous.’ Brad laughs nervously at the Amazon executives. ‘You’ll have to excuse our former creative director. Sometimes he’s too creative for his own good.’ I look at the iPad the second Amazon executive is holding up to his chest. I can sense he’s filming me. With any luck, he’s filming me live straight to Jeff Bezos’ iPad. Jeff doesn’t do meetings face to face anymore. But he’s all over AI developments at Amazon because of where the market is heading. (Apple iPads are a running joke at Amazon. Everyone has them rather than Amazon Fire tablets with their woeful OS and lack of apps.) Despite everything you’ve heard about Amazon meetings and memos, I know Jeff likes it when things get a little messy. When things don’t exactly go to plan. ‘You only make a sequel when the original is a hit. That’s how sequels work. Trainium 2? The first version of the Trainium chip - despite your press releases - was a flop. Why would you go to market with a name that gained no market traction.’ ‘Trainium 2 is up to four times faster.’ ‘And Trainium 3 which will be even more powerful.’ I sigh. It’s like the blind leading the blind. I try and smile at the Amazon executive holding up the iPad. Then I let him and his colleagues (and hopefully Jeff) have it. ‘It doesn’t matter if it can infer at ten times the previous speed, it’s not enough. It’s never enough. Sparsity? Adaptive computation? Dynamically changing neural networks? It’s already yesterday’s news.’ One of the Amazon executives looks offended. ‘We’re allocating close to $43 billion this year for AI chips.’ ‘Too little, too late.’ I shake my head. I know the best way to make executives pay attention is not through poetry, or wonder. But numbers. Big numbers. I snap my fingers. ‘Nvidia’s market cap has just passed $2 trillion. Only Microsoft and Apple are bigger. With ten times the headcount, ten times the drag.’ “Have you seen our latest announcement?’ ‘Have you seen Nvidia’s latest announcements? Last week they reported they had begun beta testing its drug discovery platform, demoed software that lets video game characters speak unscripted dialogue, announced deals with four Chinese EV manufacturers that will incorporate Nvidia technology in their vehicles, and unveiled a retail-industry partnership aimed at foiling organised shoplifting. That’s just in a week.’ Brad is blushing. ‘Okay, you’ve had your fun. I’m calling security?’ Brad picks up the phone handset on the sideboard and dials reception but no one picks up. He cranes to look down the hallway. I turn to the Amazon executives. ‘The first version of the Trainium chip didn’t gain any market share. You couldn’t even give it away. Why repeat your past mistakes by keeping the name? By reminding the market of your failures.’ Brad hangs up the phone handset and storms out of the boardroom, calling out for the security guard. ‘People don’t buy the technology, they buy the story. You want to come out with an all new AI chip, all new expectations, all new possibilities.’ ‘All new brandname?’ I nod. ‘Make it astonishing. Make it everything that Amazon stands for.’ I stride over to the whiteboard, uncap a black marker and scrawl out one word - Amazium. One of the Amazon executives leans forward, smiles. ‘Make it Amazium.’
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Copyright 2024 Stefano Boscutti All Rights Reserved
The moral rights of the author are asserted. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, digital, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or copying and pasting, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing. No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. Stefano Boscutti acknowledges the trademark owners of various products referenced in this work. The publication or use of these trademarks is not authorised or sponsored by the trademark owner. This is a work of fiction. While many of the characters portrayed here have counterparts in the life and times of Jeff Bezos and others, the characterisations and incidents presented are totally the products of the author’s urgent imagination. This work is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It should not be resold or given away. Thank you for your support. (Couldn’t do it without you.) Discover novels, screenplays, short stories and more by Stefano Boscutti at boscutti.com
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