Post #4276993
2026-07-30 12:55 UTC
I thought up that example. I don't know if it's really happening. But here's something that really *is* happening: ecommerce sites charge parents of newborns extra when they order thermometers in the middle of the night. I'm not saying anyone ever sat down and said, "Parents with sick children will pay whatever we charge for a thermometer at 2AM." They didn't have to: this is the kind of thing an automated system can do without any human intervention:
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/p246202_surveillancepricing6bstudy_researchsummaries_redacted.pdf
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Replies (1)
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@pluralistic@mamot.fr 2026-07-30 12:55
The goal of surveillance pricing is to shift all the "consumer surplus" (the difference between the highest price you're willing to pay and the price you actually pay) to companies. It's a form of cod-Marxism where you are gouged according to your ability (to pay) and charged according to the desperation of your need: https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/11/socialism-for-the-wealthy/#rugged-individualism-for-the-poor 9/