State Senate Bill 1205 would prohibit “unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce”, that is, promoting or engaging in dynamic pricing. In the bill, dynamic pricing refers to changes in prices of essential goods or services within a 24-hour period based on demand or other factors, including the use of artificial intelligence.
AI has turned us all into surveillance targets. This tool helps you fight back.
Dynamic pricing is a practice that has become more common among retailers in recent years. Wendy’s withdrew its decision to join in 2024 after the outcry, but apps like Uber have “hiked” prices during rush hour for some time now.
mashable light speed
A similar practice is monitoring pricing, which uses customers’ behavior and characteristics to determine different costs for similar items. And the algorithm uses pricing data – sometimes generalized data, such as when demand is highest, and other times personalized data, such as someone’s demographics – to determine costs.
In November, New York’s Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act went into effect. This law requires most businesses that engage in algorithmic pricing to place a clear disclaimer near the price stating, “This price was determined by an algorithm using your personal data.”
Other states considering legislation related to surveillance pricing are Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. Arizona Capital Times.
In December, food delivery service Instacart ended its controversial price testing after a Consumer Reports investigation found that it priced the same product differently for different customers, sometimes by as much as 23 percent. But that hasn’t stopped companies like Sony from experimenting with dynamic pricing.
Subject
artificial intelligence
<a href