A Trojan Horse

A new Chinese chatbot surprises the AI industry: how can it beso much cheaper than the alternatives? More important: why is itoffered as open-source software that does not require purchase of thecode? Who would forego potentially significant profits? Assuming itis a nefarious disruption would be next.A joint venture Swiss precision manufacturing company and anIsraeli semiconductor designer is confronted with a challengingquestion when two of its servers suddenly experience performanceloss. A member of the Shadow Experts team is recruited to uncoverthe shortfall cause: the design, component manufacturing, andfinal assembly. A further complication is that the joint venture hashired an Indian company based in Bangalore for final assembly ofcomponents manufactured in Switzerland, of Israeli design.Though the process reveals nothing in its initial phase, is it possiblethat an important clue is missing? Could there be an exogenouselement that triggers dysfunction in the electronic apparatus? Areall the key players really who they appear to be?