AI Transparency & Ethics: Mitigating Backlash in Automated Pricing
This discussion about Delta's AI pricing and the subsequent backlash indicates a significant and growing public scrutiny of AI applications, especially concerning fairness, transparency, and personalization. As AI becomes more integrated into consumer-facing services, businesses face increasing pressure to explain their AI models and ensure ethical practices. This presents opportunities for AI ethics consulting, transparency software, and consumer advocacy platforms.
Origin Reddit Post
r/futurology
Delta denies using AI to come up with inflated, personalized prices | Delta finally explains how its AI pricing works amid ongoing backlash.
Posted by u/chrisdh79•08/03/2025
Top Comments
u/KanedaSyndrome
I've learned to always use a vpn and incognito mode when ordering plane tickets. Set country to a poorer country and purchase tickets.
u/derekfig
They were planning on doing this but the backlash was so deep that now they are denying it was a thing.
The funny thing I’m seeing about how most of these companies who try and integrate AI
u/Kandiruaku
They have been at it for 20 years. You go on and they read your cookies slapping you a high price and more trackers, you log from behind a VPN on your super secure work computer and it is 2/3
u/Different-Stock-9262
ust search for 'discount psychology' and you'll find lots of studies showing they are not equivalent in how customers respond. They are only theoretically equivalent.
Delta has two audiences
u/matrixkid29
Even if they explained everything and showed how fair it was, how do we know they are telling the truth?
u/Swrdmn
Because we are Delta airlines, and life if a fucking nightmare.
u/Cross_22
That's pretty much how I interpreted their announcement. Popular routes / travel dates will automatically get a price increase. They just slapped "AI powered" on there to sound cool.
u/Swrdmn
Because we are Delta airlines, and life if a fucking nightmare.
u/chrisdh79
From the article: Delta spent July dealing with backlash over what the airline company claims is widespread public confusion over its AI pricing system.
Now, Delta has finally come forward t
u/ptear
It's been about 20 minutes and you didn't start checking out. Now that it seems like you want to, that'll be an extra $600.
u/FuturologyBot
The following submission statement was provided by /u/chrisdh79:
---
From the article: Delta spent July dealing with backlash over what the airline company claims is widespread public confu
u/Kandiruaku
They have been at it for 20 years. You go on and they read your cookies slapping you a high price and more trackers, you log from behind a VPN on your super secure work computer and it is 2/3
u/LordBledisloe
I work in a product company that does build AI solutions. Several core public facing features now.
If your investors aren't doing enough due diligence that they are reacting only to optical
u/darren559
Yeah it's best to shop for any airline tickets in incognito mode or a browser that makes sure that nothing is ever being recorded. Once you lock in the price to check out then you log in.
u/Swiss422
Has anyone done the actual test? Get a ticket price quote, then try again with an incognito browser, and try again with a VPN, do all the various tricks to try and spoof the AI, and see if yo
u/AtrociousMeandering
The two ARE equivalent, but with a very different presentation to the customer. That's the stupid part, they aren't gaining any advantage for their company by approaching this way, but they a
u/RyanIsKickAss
We’re not using AI to increase prices on people!
We’re using AI to increase our revenue from ticket sales. Very different. No we won’t explain what that means. Have a great day.
u/KanedaSyndrome
I've learned to always use a vpn and incognito mode when ordering plane tickets. Set country to a poorer country and purchase tickets.
u/chrisdh79
From the article: Delta spent July dealing with backlash over what the airline company claims is widespread public confusion over its AI pricing system.
Now, Delta has finally come forward t
u/RyanIsKickAss
We’re not using AI to increase prices on people!
We’re using AI to increase our revenue from ticket sales. Very different. No we won’t explain what that means. Have a great day.
u/AtrociousMeandering
Screwing up basic advertising psychology. The highest price tickets need to be the default, to anchor perception, and then the AI is shown to find you *discounts* in order to keep more price-
u/LordBledisloe
I work in a product company that does build AI solutions. Several core public facing features now.
If your investors aren't doing enough due diligence that they are reacting only to optical
u/_The_Bear
So we're pretending that starting with a high price and giving certain people big discounts is somehow different than starting at a low price and giving certain people price increases. In the
u/matrixkid29
Even if they explained everything and showed how fair it was, how do we know they are telling the truth?
u/_The_Bear
So we're pretending that starting with a high price and giving certain people big discounts is somehow different than starting at a low price and giving certain people price increases. In the
u/_The_Bear
So we're pretending that starting with a high price and giving certain people big discounts is somehow different than starting at a low price and giving certain people price increases. In the
u/Swrdmn
Because we are Delta airlines, and life if a fucking nightmare.
u/RyanIsKickAss
We’re not using AI to increase prices on people!
We’re using AI to increase our revenue from ticket sales. Very different. No we won’t explain what that means. Have a great day.
u/rockintomordor_
Damn, chatgpt learning too quick lmao
u/Emergency-Reason-437
I always felt that the airlines watched your search history and if you didn’t buy it initially when you came back, the price was always higher, even if it was the same day. Delta isn’t the on
u/chrisdh79
From the article: Delta spent July dealing with backlash over what the airline company claims is widespread public confusion over its AI pricing system.
Now, Delta has finally come forward t
u/matrixkid29
Even if they explained everything and showed how fair it was, how do we know they are telling the truth?
u/ZachMatthews
I have 100% had fares quoted to me when I was logged into my Delta Skymiles account that are higher for the exact same ticket than fares I’ve had quoted when I ran the exact same search on a
u/rockintomordor_
Damn, chatgpt learning too quick lmao
u/Cross_22
That's pretty much how I interpreted their announcement. Popular routes / travel dates will automatically get a price increase. They just slapped "AI powered" on there to sound cool.
u/LittleWhiteDragon
Of course, they would deny it! They are not going to admit to doing this!
u/_The_Bear
So we're pretending that starting with a high price and giving certain people big discounts is somehow different than starting at a low price and giving certain people price increases. In the
u/Hot_Marionberry_4685
Honestly regardless of how they decide to use it going forward the backlash from it will definitely hurt them going forward for a long time unless some other airline advertises they’re doing
u/Swrdmn
Because we are Delta airlines, and life if a fucking nightmare.
u/derekfig
They were planning on doing this but the backlash was so deep that now they are denying it was a thing.
The funny thing I’m seeing about how most of these companies who try and integrate AI
u/AtrociousMeandering
The two ARE equivalent, but with a very different presentation to the customer. That's the stupid part, they aren't gaining any advantage for their company by approaching this way, but they a
u/FuturologyBot
The following submission statement was provided by /u/chrisdh79:
---
From the article: Delta spent July dealing with backlash over what the airline company claims is widespread public confu
u/AtrociousMeandering
The two ARE equivalent, but with a very different presentation to the customer. That's the stupid part, they aren't gaining any advantage for their company by approaching this way, but they a
u/Emergency-Reason-437
I always felt that the airlines watched your search history and if you didn’t buy it initially when you came back, the price was always higher, even if it was the same day. Delta isn’t the on
u/Cross_22
That's pretty much how I interpreted their announcement. Popular routes / travel dates will automatically get a price increase. They just slapped "AI powered" on there to sound cool.
u/KanedaSyndrome
I've learned to always use a vpn and incognito mode when ordering plane tickets. Set country to a poorer country and purchase tickets.
u/Niku-Man
If they explained everything then people would be able to test it
u/LittleWhiteDragon
Of course, they would deny it! They are not going to admit to doing this!
u/derekfig
They were planning on doing this but the backlash was so deep that now they are denying it was a thing.
The funny thing I’m seeing about how most of these companies who try and integrate AI
u/Bitter-Good-2540
Google does that already. If you use flights, they increase the prices after around two weeks
u/Shinnyo
I really hate this hype.
Where I work we don't use AI, it's limited due to how scarce the product's documentation is.
But we are required to slap "AI powered" everywhere because it makes th
u/RyanIsKickAss
We’re not using AI to increase prices on people!
We’re using AI to increase our revenue from ticket sales. Very different. No we won’t explain what that means. Have a great day.
u/FuturologyBot
The following submission statement was provided by /u/chrisdh79:
---
From the article: Delta spent July dealing with backlash over what the airline company claims is widespread public confu
u/UltimateLmon
Even if it was nothing sinister (Considering Delta, unlikely), they might not actually know what their AI model is exactly doing anyway.
u/KanedaSyndrome
I've learned to always use a vpn and incognito mode when ordering plane tickets. Set country to a poorer country and purchase tickets.
u/AtrociousMeandering
The two ARE equivalent, but with a very different presentation to the customer. That's the stupid part, they aren't gaining any advantage for their company by approaching this way, but they a
u/Niku-Man
If they explained everything then people would be able to test it
u/AtrociousMeandering
Screwing up basic advertising psychology. The highest price tickets need to be the default, to anchor perception, and then the AI is shown to find you *discounts* in order to keep more price-
u/rockintomordor_
Damn, chatgpt learning too quick lmao
u/Original_Wallaby_272
When you promote your use of AI as a way to increase revenue, it makes sense that people would have questions.
I find it telling that they aren’t actually explaining what exactly they are d
u/Original_Wallaby_272
When you promote your use of AI as a way to increase revenue, it makes sense that people would have questions.
I find it telling that they aren’t actually explaining what exactly they are d
u/Hot_Marionberry_4685
Honestly regardless of how they decide to use it going forward the backlash from it will definitely hurt them going forward for a long time unless some other airline advertises they’re doing
u/AtrociousMeandering
The two ARE equivalent, but with a very different presentation to the customer. That's the stupid part, they aren't gaining any advantage for their company by approaching this way, but they a
u/sambull
They asked chatgpt and it said charge more in the spots that the market can bear. Then went off into a diatribe about capitalism ending in a fascist oligarchy.
u/sambull
They asked chatgpt and it said charge more in the spots that the market can bear. Then went off into a diatribe about capitalism ending in a fascist oligarchy.
u/Hot_Marionberry_4685
Honestly regardless of how they decide to use it going forward the backlash from it will definitely hurt them going forward for a long time unless some other airline advertises they’re doing
u/Cross_22
That's pretty much how I interpreted their announcement. Popular routes / travel dates will automatically get a price increase. They just slapped "AI powered" on there to sound cool.
u/derekfig
They were planning on doing this but the backlash was so deep that now they are denying it was a thing.
The funny thing I’m seeing about how most of these companies who try and integrate AI
u/Swiss422
Has anyone done the actual test? Get a ticket price quote, then try again with an incognito browser, and try again with a VPN, do all the various tricks to try and spoof the AI, and see if yo
u/AtrociousMeandering
Screwing up basic advertising psychology. The highest price tickets need to be the default, to anchor perception, and then the AI is shown to find you *discounts* in order to keep more price-
u/Kandiruaku
They have been at it for 20 years. You go on and they read your cookies slapping you a high price and more trackers, you log from behind a VPN on your super secure work computer and it is 2/3
u/Different-Stock-9262
ust search for 'discount psychology' and you'll find lots of studies showing they are not equivalent in how customers respond. They are only theoretically equivalent.
Delta has two audiences
u/Cross_22
That's pretty much how I interpreted their announcement. Popular routes / travel dates will automatically get a price increase. They just slapped "AI powered" on there to sound cool.
u/UltimateLmon
Even if it was nothing sinister (Considering Delta, unlikely), they might not actually know what their AI model is exactly doing anyway.
u/derekfig
They were planning on doing this but the backlash was so deep that now they are denying it was a thing.
The funny thing I’m seeing about how most of these companies who try and integrate AI
u/Original_Wallaby_272
When you promote your use of AI as a way to increase revenue, it makes sense that people would have questions.
I find it telling that they aren’t actually explaining what exactly they are d
u/_The_Bear
So we're pretending that starting with a high price and giving certain people big discounts is somehow different than starting at a low price and giving certain people price increases. In the
u/LittleWhiteDragon
Of course, they would deny it! They are not going to admit to doing this!
u/Different-Stock-9262
ust search for 'discount psychology' and you'll find lots of studies showing they are not equivalent in how customers respond. They are only theoretically equivalent.
Delta has two audiences
u/Niku-Man
If they explained everything then people would be able to test it
u/LittleWhiteDragon
Of course, they would deny it! They are not going to admit to doing this!
u/chrisdh79
From the article: Delta spent July dealing with backlash over what the airline company claims is widespread public confusion over its AI pricing system.
Now, Delta has finally come forward t
u/rockintomordor_
Damn, chatgpt learning too quick lmao
u/Bitter-Good-2540
Google does that already. If you use flights, they increase the prices after around two weeks
u/Hot_Marionberry_4685
Honestly regardless of how they decide to use it going forward the backlash from it will definitely hurt them going forward for a long time unless some other airline advertises they’re doing
u/UltimateLmon
Even if it was nothing sinister (Considering Delta, unlikely), they might not actually know what their AI model is exactly doing anyway.
u/Bitter-Good-2540
Google does that already. If you use flights, they increase the prices after around two weeks
u/Original_Wallaby_272
When you promote your use of AI as a way to increase revenue, it makes sense that people would have questions.
I find it telling that they aren’t actually explaining what exactly they are d
u/Niku-Man
If they explained everything then people would be able to test it
u/matrixkid29
Even if they explained everything and showed how fair it was, how do we know they are telling the truth?
u/ptear
It's been about 20 minutes and you didn't start checking out. Now that it seems like you want to, that'll be an extra $600.
u/FuturologyBot
The following submission statement was provided by /u/chrisdh79:
---
From the article: Delta spent July dealing with backlash over what the airline company claims is widespread public confu
u/Different-Stock-9262
ust search for 'discount psychology' and you'll find lots of studies showing they are not equivalent in how customers respond. They are only theoretically equivalent.
Delta has two audiences
u/sambull
They asked chatgpt and it said charge more in the spots that the market can bear. Then went off into a diatribe about capitalism ending in a fascist oligarchy.
u/Original_Wallaby_272
When you promote your use of AI as a way to increase revenue, it makes sense that people would have questions.
I find it telling that they aren’t actually explaining what exactly they are d
u/ptear
It's been about 20 minutes and you didn't start checking out. Now that it seems like you want to, that'll be an extra $600.
u/ZachMatthews
I have 100% had fares quoted to me when I was logged into my Delta Skymiles account that are higher for the exact same ticket than fares I’ve had quoted when I ran the exact same search on a
u/Bitter-Good-2540
Google does that already. If you use flights, they increase the prices after around two weeks
u/UltimateLmon
Even if it was nothing sinister (Considering Delta, unlikely), they might not actually know what their AI model is exactly doing anyway.
u/AtrociousMeandering
Screwing up basic advertising psychology. The highest price tickets need to be the default, to anchor perception, and then the AI is shown to find you *discounts* in order to keep more price-
u/RyanIsKickAss
We’re not using AI to increase prices on people!
We’re using AI to increase our revenue from ticket sales. Very different. No we won’t explain what that means. Have a great day.
u/LordBledisloe
I work in a product company that does build AI solutions. Several core public facing features now.
If your investors aren't doing enough due diligence that they are reacting only to optical
u/Shinnyo
I really hate this hype.
Where I work we don't use AI, it's limited due to how scarce the product's documentation is.
But we are required to slap "AI powered" everywhere because it makes th
u/Emergency-Reason-437
I always felt that the airlines watched your search history and if you didn’t buy it initially when you came back, the price was always higher, even if it was the same day. Delta isn’t the on
u/Hot_Marionberry_4685
Honestly regardless of how they decide to use it going forward the backlash from it will definitely hurt them going forward for a long time unless some other airline advertises they’re doing
u/UltimateLmon
Even if it was nothing sinister (Considering Delta, unlikely), they might not actually know what their AI model is exactly doing anyway.
u/Swrdmn
Because we are Delta airlines, and life if a fucking nightmare.
u/ZachMatthews
I have 100% had fares quoted to me when I was logged into my Delta Skymiles account that are higher for the exact same ticket than fares I’ve had quoted when I ran the exact same search on a
u/Shinnyo
I really hate this hype.
Where I work we don't use AI, it's limited due to how scarce the product's documentation is.
But we are required to slap "AI powered" everywhere because it makes th
u/Swiss422
Has anyone done the actual test? Get a ticket price quote, then try again with an incognito browser, and try again with a VPN, do all the various tricks to try and spoof the AI, and see if yo
u/rockintomordor_
Damn, chatgpt learning too quick lmao
u/Kandiruaku
They have been at it for 20 years. You go on and they read your cookies slapping you a high price and more trackers, you log from behind a VPN on your super secure work computer and it is 2/3
u/derekfig
They were planning on doing this but the backlash was so deep that now they are denying it was a thing.
The funny thing I’m seeing about how most of these companies who try and integrate AI
u/Shinnyo
I really hate this hype.
Where I work we don't use AI, it's limited due to how scarce the product's documentation is.
But we are required to slap "AI powered" everywhere because it makes th
u/Cross_22
That's pretty much how I interpreted their announcement. Popular routes / travel dates will automatically get a price increase. They just slapped "AI powered" on there to sound cool.
u/matrixkid29
Even if they explained everything and showed how fair it was, how do we know they are telling the truth?
u/Kandiruaku
They have been at it for 20 years. You go on and they read your cookies slapping you a high price and more trackers, you log from behind a VPN on your super secure work computer and it is 2/3
u/ZachMatthews
I have 100% had fares quoted to me when I was logged into my Delta Skymiles account that are higher for the exact same ticket than fares I’ve had quoted when I ran the exact same search on a
u/chrisdh79
From the article: Delta spent July dealing with backlash over what the airline company claims is widespread public confusion over its AI pricing system.
Now, Delta has finally come forward t
u/LordBledisloe
I work in a product company that does build AI solutions. Several core public facing features now.
If your investors aren't doing enough due diligence that they are reacting only to optical
u/Bitter-Good-2540
Google does that already. If you use flights, they increase the prices after around two weeks
u/Swiss422
Has anyone done the actual test? Get a ticket price quote, then try again with an incognito browser, and try again with a VPN, do all the various tricks to try and spoof the AI, and see if yo
u/chrisdh79
From the article: Delta spent July dealing with backlash over what the airline company claims is widespread public confusion over its AI pricing system.
Now, Delta has finally come forward t
u/Hot_Marionberry_4685
Honestly regardless of how they decide to use it going forward the backlash from it will definitely hurt them going forward for a long time unless some other airline advertises they’re doing
u/Swiss422
Has anyone done the actual test? Get a ticket price quote, then try again with an incognito browser, and try again with a VPN, do all the various tricks to try and spoof the AI, and see if yo
u/Shinnyo
I really hate this hype.
Where I work we don't use AI, it's limited due to how scarce the product's documentation is.
But we are required to slap "AI powered" everywhere because it makes th
u/FuturologyBot
The following submission statement was provided by /u/chrisdh79:
---
From the article: Delta spent July dealing with backlash over what the airline company claims is widespread public confu
u/sambull
They asked chatgpt and it said charge more in the spots that the market can bear. Then went off into a diatribe about capitalism ending in a fascist oligarchy.
u/Emergency-Reason-437
I always felt that the airlines watched your search history and if you didn’t buy it initially when you came back, the price was always higher, even if it was the same day. Delta isn’t the on
u/ptear
It's been about 20 minutes and you didn't start checking out. Now that it seems like you want to, that'll be an extra $600.
u/Original_Wallaby_272
When you promote your use of AI as a way to increase revenue, it makes sense that people would have questions.
I find it telling that they aren’t actually explaining what exactly they are d
u/Emergency-Reason-437
I always felt that the airlines watched your search history and if you didn’t buy it initially when you came back, the price was always higher, even if it was the same day. Delta isn’t the on
u/KanedaSyndrome
I've learned to always use a vpn and incognito mode when ordering plane tickets. Set country to a poorer country and purchase tickets.
u/ptear
It's been about 20 minutes and you didn't start checking out. Now that it seems like you want to, that'll be an extra $600.
u/AtrociousMeandering
Screwing up basic advertising psychology. The highest price tickets need to be the default, to anchor perception, and then the AI is shown to find you *discounts* in order to keep more price-
u/Different-Stock-9262
ust search for 'discount psychology' and you'll find lots of studies showing they are not equivalent in how customers respond. They are only theoretically equivalent.
Delta has two audiences
u/FuturologyBot
The following submission statement was provided by /u/chrisdh79:
---
From the article: Delta spent July dealing with backlash over what the airline company claims is widespread public confu
u/LittleWhiteDragon
Of course, they would deny it! They are not going to admit to doing this!
u/ptear
It's been about 20 minutes and you didn't start checking out. Now that it seems like you want to, that'll be an extra $600.
u/sambull
They asked chatgpt and it said charge more in the spots that the market can bear. Then went off into a diatribe about capitalism ending in a fascist oligarchy.
u/sambull
They asked chatgpt and it said charge more in the spots that the market can bear. Then went off into a diatribe about capitalism ending in a fascist oligarchy.