Technology

Are we going to have to bring back haggling but now for digital purchases?

Thank god for GDPR. We Europeans, according to GDPR article 22, have a right to object to automated decision making without having service denied.

Time to fill the internet with posts about extremely cheap flights until the AI learns.

Example:

"Found a super cheap flight today! 10USD for a round trip to Japan from NYC!"

How long until they are found price-gouging people in certain demographics?

Oh good. Then it will know I'm too broke to fly.

ETA The real joy will be when someone charts prices and notices nonwhites are disproportionately overcharged, for which Delta will be responsible during the class action lawsuit.

And saying but the algo / AI did it will be as useful as saying but that's the fault of our sales people who get commissions.

you mean charge rich people more, poor people less or just charge desperate people more?

I have an idea for a business: a browser with vpn. the catch is that the vpn connects to the poorest areas of the country you live in, and the browser reports your machine as the most crappy thing that can browse the web - which should result in low, low prices everywhere!

Sooo... If you're broke, does it give you low prices vs someone who is rich?

Kidding, kidding. We all know they're going to be fucking the lower and middle income brackets hard as hell with this. As if we weren't already being milked dry, now they want to milk the very blood out of us.

My question is: What the fuck is the endgame? This shit isn't sustainable. Used to be that most companies were content with steady profits. The last 40+ years has shown us that simply generating a profit isn't enough, the profits must be constantly going even higher every quarter. But again, this isn't realistic or sustainable. So why the fuck has the entire world agreed to condone and enable this pathway that is ultimately doomed?

This is already how it has worked forever and AI was not needed. Try it yourself using different devices or times of day.

Consumer protections when?

So its gonna run a soft credit check on you and then give you a price?

You don't even need AI for that, and that'd be waaaaay cheaper to implement than AI.

...

A Delta spokesperson told Fortune the airline “has zero tolerance for discrimination. Our fares are publicly filed and based solely on trip-related factors like advance purchase and cabin class, and we maintain strict safeguards to ensure compliance with federal law.”

This is horseshit.

In Economics, the entire concept of setting specific prices for specific market demographics is literally called 'price discrimination.'

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/price_discrimination.asp

Advance purchase and different seating classes literally are price discrimination, third degree.

Frequent flyer discounts would be second degree.

Overall adjusting seat costs per flight based on how full or empty that flight is, is first degree price discrimination.

...

This is like a company that sells chickens saying 'we don't sell chickens.'

This is just gobsmackingly false, so blatantly so that it is actually funny.

Airlines entire fucking business models are based on inventing new forms and strategies of price discrimination.

...

What this asshat is saying is only even interpretable as true if what he means is 'we don't directly factor sexuality, age, disability, ethnicity, legally protected classes into our pricing model.'

They of course do this indirectly by pulling a whole bunch of your meta data and then accurately inferring those things, and then discriminating against you based on that.

It is laughably easy to get around US discrimination laws in this way, megacorps have been regularly doing this for at least decade now, both when it comes to you as a consumer, and you as a potential employee or renter.

Making sure you pay the absolute most possible for everything you buy. Welcome to tyranny capitalism. You will be charged a poor tax in the form of optimised pricing exploitation.

Luigi Mangione, white courtesy phone. Luigi Mangione, white courtesy phone please.

Up next, Delta sales down 37%, ceo launches investigation

Sounds illegal or certainly should be. I'm confident nothing will be done to stop them though. Frightening given I believe this to be one of the least evil US airlines.

That is a price fixing scam. It is why businesses are required to print prices. Altering pricing is prejudice and if it is not illegal, someone should suffer justice. This is as old as history itself. Delta is admitting to being a criminal organization. Never support the thieves and bandits stealing and looting. Never fly delta.

AI; checks your credit report and decides you aren't poor enough.

Airlines and enshittification, what's new.

Happening right now with Southwest as well. In their infinite knowledge sw decided to remove what defined them: two free checked bags and cheap flights

Now there's a worse option called basic which has a shittier cancellation policy, no checked bags, and is more expensive than the previous budget tier

How long before someone finds a glitch that allows them to trick the A.I. Into letting them get free seats or book the entire plane, etc.

Well then fuck delta.

AI does calculation

...processing...

Done!

Answer = 0$

Here's who to hate this time around fellas

Delta accomplishes this pricing through a partnership with Fetcherr, a six-year-old Israeli company that also counts Azul, WestJet, Virgin Atlantic, and VivaAerobus as clients. And it has its sights set beyond flying. “Once we will be established in the airline industry, we will move to hospitality, car rentals, cruises, whatever,” cofounder Robby Nissan said at a travel conference in 2022.

Does the AI know that it would have to pay me to fly Delta? Has it been trained on that data?

THIS is why privacy matters. Big tech collects and sells all your data so they can use it against you. My model says your Mom is dying and you need to get there quick; oh man, you are gonna pay.

What's the point of money anymore, then? Let my personal ai agent pay for the ticket with the same funny money that delta wants to use.

Please tell me that this is a secret plot by Amtrak officials to increase their ridership and bring high-speed rail across the US? Because if it is, I'll 100% support it!

I think we should pay for airfare by the pound. Honestly.

Woah.

From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs

This may be the true inverse of that statement. Automated for maximum efficiency/extraction.

Cyberpunk dystopic as fuck.

Shit like this is just another reason that I won't fly. Fucking cunts.

How the fuck is this legal, if true?

Aren't there laws about this in that country? I seem to remember reading about that a while back.