APRILBRUCE

I am Dr. April Bruce, an algorithmic economist and computational social scientist specializing in high-dimensional market dynamics under AI-driven pricing regimes. As the Founding Director of the Market Elasticity Simulation Lab at Caltech (2022–present) and former Lead Architect of Amazon’s Dynamic Pricing AI Core (2018–2022), I engineer multi-agent systems to decode how algorithmic pricing distorts or stabilizes supply-demand equilibria. My ElastiSim framework, which integrates mean-field game theory with deep reinforcement learning, uncovered hysteresis effects in 78% of e-commerce markets during demand shocks (NeurIPS 2024 Spotlight). My mission: To map the invisible feedback loops between algorithmic price adaptation and market fragility, empowering regulators and firms to preempt systemic collapse.

Methodological Innovations

1. Adaptive Pricing-Elasticity Coupling

• Core Architecture: Recursive Neural Field Model

  • Simulated price-setting algorithms as non-linear PDEs interacting with consumer/producer agents via gradient flows.

  • Predicted 2024 semiconductor shortages 11 months in advance by modeling TSMC’s AI pricing agent (Nature Computational Science 2025).

  • Key innovation: Elasticity phase diagrams revealing critical thresholds where algorithmic pricing triggers hypervolatility.

2. Neuromorphic Market Emulation

• NeuroSim Cluster:

  • Implemented Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) on neuromorphic chips to emulate real-time price elasticity across 10^6 heterogeneous agents.

  • Achieved 340x speedup vs. classical DSGE models for crisis scenarios like COVID-20 vaccine allocation.

3. Counterfactual Policy Testing

• Regulatory War Games:

  • Trained adversarial agents to mimic FTC/DOJ interventions against collusive algorithmic pricing.

  • Quantified how "algorithmic tacit collusion" reduces supply elasticity by 19–63% in concentrated markets.

Landmark Applications

1. E-Commerce Stability Certification

• Amazon & Shopify Integration:

  • Deployed PriceGuard, a real-time elasticity monitor blocking pricing algorithms from crossing critical fragility thresholds.

  • Prevented $2.1B in potential losses during 2024 holiday season demand spikes.

2. Energy Market Crisis Prevention

• DOE Collaboration:

  • Modeled ERCOT’s algorithmic electricity pricing during 2025 climate-driven demand surges.

  • Prescribed dynamic caps that avoided 72 hours of grid failure while maintaining 89% supplier participation.

3. Agricultural Supply Chain Resilience

• UN World Food Programme:

  • Simulated fertilizer algorithmic pricing impacts on 2030 crop elasticity across 12 developing nations.

  • Informed buffer stock algorithms that stabilized maize prices within ±7% during Ukraine crisis 2.0.

Technical and Ethical Impact

1. Open-Source Crisis Toolkit

• Launched ElastiSim Cloud:

  • Federated simulation platform allowing SMEs to stress-test pricing algorithms against synthetic crises.

  • Adopted by EU’s Digital Markets Unit to audit Amazon/Meta’s algorithmic strategies.

2. Quantum Elasticity Forecasting

• IBM Quantum Partnership:

  • Encoded market states as quantum harmonic oscillators to compute elasticity gradients 50x faster.

  • Predicted lithium price cascades during EV boom with 94% accuracy.

3. Antitrust Evidence Generation

• FTC v. Algorithmic Collusion Cases:

  • Provided simulation-based proof that Uber/Lyft’s surge pricing algorithms suppressed driver supply elasticity by 41%.

  • Influenced $3.8B settlement requiring algorithmic fairness audits.

Future Directions

1. Cross-Market Contagion Modeling
   Simulate how housing algorithm price crashes propagate to retail/energy markets via coupled elasticity networks.

2. Ethical Price Adaptation
   Train pricing AIs with Kantian optimization to balance profit motives and supply-chain ethical imperatives.

3. Deepfake Demand Shock
   Study how AI-generated social media trends distort elasticity predictions via synthetic panic/euphoria.

Collaboration Vision
I seek partners to:

• Scale ElastiSim for the IMF’s global algorithmic stability monitoring network.

• Co-develop BioElastic models linking vaccine pricing algorithms to healthcare supply elasticity in LMICs.

• Pioneer Quantum-Fed simulations merging market dynamics with quantum gravity-inspired network topologies.