So, while not a tech guru, I do try to keep up as our advertising agency side invests a lot of client dollars in online-based advertising options. The other day I read an article… pointed out to me by my brilliant business partner… regarding Delta Airlines’ new AI managed individualized pricing strategy.
The plan is for Artificial Intelligence to, in a matter of seconds, take all sorts of elements into account and price your airfare individually. That means the guy who buys the exact same ticket you are buying an hour later than you might pay a higher or lower rate based on his individual stats.
In theory I get it. Supply and demand… fuel costs… labor costs… whatever… it can all change quickly and that all affects the price of the ticket. But will it stop there?
If you have been living under a rock and have no idea how much the “Internet” knows about you, let me tell you… it likely knows when your last dental checkup was… how much you have in your savings account… when you took your last vacation, and on and on and on. In other words… if you didn’t whisper it to your spouse in bed last night… the Internet knows… and if you have a newer TV or computer in your bedroom, or keep your smart phone next to the bed, the Internet probably saw and heard you whisper to your spouse.
I say all that to say that I get using technology to maximize flight space usage and increase profits. What worries me is that AI will know how much you make and how much you have available on your credit card so it will know what you can afford. But it is a machine with no feelings. Will AI know that your mother is dying of cancer and you only have days to see her for the last time. Will it know that you will be forced to max out your last credit card to get there before she passes? Of course it will. Will it care? Absolutely not. All AI will know is that you might be willing to pay double… maybe triple… for one of the last seats on that needed flight. And evidently the humans… if humans are involved… likely won’t care either.
Don’t get me wrong… I’m not a fan of government. I wish it wasn’t needed… especially where the free-market system is concerned. But nobody ever believed… well at least 99% of people never believed… that AI would get to where it is today, and the future is even more scary. So, as much as it pains me to say this… it may well be time for the federal government to step in and place controls on how AI is used… especially in business and how fair pricing is managed. Let’s say you are blessed… short of chartering a private jet you can afford most tickets to anywhere. But does that mean you should have to pay double what someone who isn’t as blessed should pay for the same seat on an airplane? What’s next… sliding prices on Big Macs or Diet Cokes because of the balance available in your account? Think about it!
