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They got caught. They’re backing down. But this isn’t over. There needs to be a class action lawsuit. Instacart admitted it was using AI to charge different people different prices for the exact same items. Algorithmic price gouging. That scam could cost a family of four $1,200 more a year.

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Americans should know how badly they are being manipulated and taken advantage of by the biggest Internet and social media companies. For example, people in conservative red states are targeted with pro-gun stories while liberals in blue states are targeted with gun control stories. Guess why.

When I shop online, I set up a customer account, put my desired items in the cart and wait. Reminders to complete my purchase come first. Then offers of 10% off. After about one week, higher discounts and free shipping get offered. Just got a Kitchen Aid mixer shown as $70 for $44 and free shipping.

I ask the same question of Door Dash. Even after the “service and convenience” fee,, the taxes and drivers tip they still charge more for the items than the restaurant themselves. The drivers tip I’m totally for, but charging more than the restaurant charges should be illegal.

So let us ALL get the up front factual facts about AL- 1-The disclamer at the bottem of AI informantion: 2-This is AI & may not be true. 3-Prices vary for differnment customers. 4-See # 1 More than obvious 2-4 should be mandated to be included.

Walmart Canada's grocery delivery is powered by third-party partners, primarily Instacart, for on-demand service, with a recent expansion into a partnership with DoorDash. I heard Skip the Dish might get involved also, competition is key to keeping pricing fair and honest!

An admission of guilt and the promise to stop using this abhorrent tactic isn’t enough. The only real accountability comes through legal action and severe financial penalties for deliberately misleading customers. That’s how you settle it and how you make sure it never happens again.

i use instacart all the time, bx i have to. i dont really understand what it is they were doing, & i dont exactly understand what algorithms do. were they trying to see if we would pay for the higher priced item or what>?

Isn't the other way to look at this that they gave some people discounts? Price discrimination is the basis for coupons. Businesses have been doing this for over a century.

That sucks. Costco used them for same day delivery items & that’s very helpful for people who have disabilities & scheduling issues. I really appreciated those delivery people. Sucks Instacart had to ruin their brand by price gouging.

I stopped using Instacart when I noticed the app was charging more than in-store prices, even when I picked up at the store. I would join a class action lawsuit.

Here's the original investigation

Consumer Reports@consumerreports.org

In collaboration w/ @groundwork.bsky.social & @moreperfectunion.bsky.social, we convened hundreds of volunteers from across the country to investigate Instacart’s AI-assisted pricing experiments at popular grocery stores like Target & Kroger. Read our full investigation below:

Last year I stopped by a Ralph’s supermarket in Santa Monica to get some dog food. Not my usual store and not my neighborhood but I was driving by. The food was $34.00-at my local Ralph’s just a couple miles away the food is $23.00. Ralph’s charged $11 more simply because it’s a wealthier area!

1/ Companies (& now the govt) collect thousands of bits of data about you from different sources to create a profile. our zip code may reflect your income level, as do your purchases. "Rewards" programs are a big offender. Everyone should remove company rewards apps from their devices. FYI: 1/

2/ AI Overview Rewards apps collect vast amounts of user data (purchase history, location, behavior) in exchange for points or discounts, creating detailed profiles that power personalized marketing, improve customer loyalty, and generate revenue by selling insights to advertisers, . . . 2.

3/ . . .all while shifting reliance from third-party cookies to direct, first-party data sharing. These apps (like Fetch, Ibotta) track interactions like receipts and app usage to offer tailored content and rewards, fostering a mutually beneficial data-sharing ecosystem. 3/

WTF is wrong with people? Do they never consider what they do affects other people? EVER? Do they ever care? Or is it all about the profit.....yes, it is all about the profit. And this world will not survive, nor we, if all we care about is profit. Fuck algorithms! The world has no use for them.

That isnt just business that dont take into consideration how fheir action affect other thos seems to be a problem plaugeing society as a whole. See it every day. People dont seem to grasp that their action affect more then themselves. Or they just dont care and that is extremely sad to consider.

Long before AI, a local grocery chain had pricing lower for the "rich neighborhoods" than it did for poor ones. In their greed, they knew that folks in the rich areas would drive to a different store. Folks in the poor areas had no such backup plan, either not owning a car at all, or limited funds.

As a single mother, I use Instacart regularly. The app has always said they charge "in store" prices. That is clearly a blatant lie and I'm ready to sign up for that class action lawsuit. And will be shopping in person from now on except in extreme circumstances.

This is not illegal. Colleges are all over the place with who they charge what. To most people this is a realized expectation..people understand they are monitored and scored

F☆ck AI, and f☆ck the tech bros and their algorithms. CA just passed a law about this. Billionaires are using your words, your voice, your face, and your ideas to build their AI machines. And not paying you a dime. Unless you say NO. #OptOut

I am a retired person living in Tampa, and my pricing on Instacart was higher than the stores. I noticed this for some items. If they thought they were raising the price for a rich person, they were wrong.

How do they determine who should get the lower or higher price. Extracted from the ABC article below. 🙄 "Instacart reiterated that the tests 'were not dynamic pricing or surveillance pricing' and were not based on 'supply or demand, personal data, demographics, or individual shopping behavior.'"

abcnews.go.comInstacart ends price tests on groceries after customer feedbackInstacart has announced it is ending item price testing and will end retailer access to its Eversight AI technology.

Do you get the feeling that AI is more snake oil that promises to make life easier but really enshittifies it. Has crypto, chatbots, social media, buy now pay later, subscription everything, yearly wraps, algorithms, and requests to review made life better? I want to turn it all off and burn it.

Fuck AI. One more method for tech and finance billionaires to screw the rest of us. Musk, Altman, Ellison, Thiel, Bezos, Andreeson, Zuckerberg, etc. These guys are weirdos that don't give one fuck about the rest of us. Here's a good read about these clowns: More Everything Forever by Adam Becker.

People are going to hate this...but how is this bad? Besides a law making them announce it-it's just capitalism They note customers who use the service and charge them more until the customer won't pay It's not a library, it's a delivery service If u don't like it, don't use it? Open 2 being wrong🙂

It’s not charging variable prices. Is the doing it unannounced and misrepresenting the fair market value of goods delivered. After seeing this, they would be the last people on earth I would trust with my credit card on file.

That still does nothing. We need fines that will actually impact their ability to stay in business. Big corps just price future fines into the cost of doing business already. So we pay whether they get caught or not.