McDonald's is reportedly using AI to "dynamically" price its burgers - Engadget
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Its food isn't the only thing leaving a bad taste in customers' mouths.

McDonald’s has been using artificial intelligence to dynamically price menu items in the US and some global markets, according to a report by Reuters. This involves finding the “optimal price” to match what a particular store’s patrons would be willing to pay.

This fluctuates according to location, and even stores in the same city can have different cost amounts for the same exact items, according to information reviewed by Reuters. This is basically surge pricing, like with ride-share platforms, but for hockey puck burgers that have been sitting under a hot lamp.

Reuters got a look at the interface that franchisees use to access this technology and it’s pretty creepy. Messages show stuff like “your restaurant is showing MEDIUM SENSITIVITY to price” based on “customer willingness to pay in your area.” Cost differences at nearby locations can be stark. Researchers found that a Bic Mac at a Fresno, California store cost $5.69, but the same burger cost $6.89 at another branch two miles down the road. That’s a 21 percent difference.

  • NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zipEnglish
    0·
    4 hours ago

    And soon someone will have the “Where is The Cheapest” mcdonalds app that guides them to the location that is hurting for business and has lowered their price, effectively negating the process.

    Personally, I don’t see a problem with McDonalds doing this, as I am not the kind of person who would eat that crap. I had gone probably decades without going into one, but happened to on a road trip. Big ugly kiosks? Nope. I left.

    I can’t see how this could be illegal. They should be able to adjust their prices any time they want. Well except after you order I guess.

    Gathering data about the customers that persists, is personally identifiable, and not discoverable, now THAT should be illegal.

    • tmyakal@infosec.pubEnglish
      0·
      3 hours ago

      I don’t see a problem with McDonald’s doing this, as I am not the kind of person who would eat that crap

      Okay, great, this specific case doesn’t apply to you. Thank goodness no other business will be encouraged to adopt this model and suddenly make groceries more expensive during the post-work/pre-dinner rush and on weekends.

      • NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zipEnglish
        0·
        3 hours ago

        I don’t care if they do, frankly.

        Restaurants already do this: Lunch is one price, Happy Hour another, Dinner another, and then late night often yet another menu.

        A business can charge whatever they want, and hopefully it will empower more food coops and consumer owned businesses.

        Edit: Most of the places I like to go to, I know who works there, I know who owns it.

        I wonder if touristy places will eventually get facial recognition, so that prices are much higher for tourists?

        Which leads me to the part that actually bothers me, the data collection and identification. Its not the pricing itself that bothers me, its the data required to do it.

        • cardboardboxfort@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          1 hour ago

          Having different prices for different meals isn’t dynamic pricing. We have menu’s because some food is more expensive than others. 2 eggs and some hash browns costs less then a hamburger with full dressings, fries and a soft drink.

          Dynamic pricing is a form of prejudice that relies on a few additional data points but at its heart is no different than “hey this guy is skin color and is wearing clothing type so he must be loaded I’m going to tack on another $4 to his order!”

          Now if that example above seems fine with you, change out the skin color and clothing type to something stereotypically negative and then tell me it’s not prejudice for someone to base a business transaction on those attributes (which the Supreme Court has in the past ruled is illegal to do.)

          • NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zipEnglish
            0·
            1 hour ago

            Having different prices for different meals isn’t dynamic pricing

            Yes it is. Less people at lunch. More people at dinner. Less people at 4 - 6 in between. They all are different prices reflecting the different number of people that time will attract. It isn’t simply what the food is made of.

            Dynamic pricing is a form of prejudice that relies on a few additional data points but at its heart is no different than “hey this guy is skin color and is wearing clothing type so he must be loaded I’m going to tack on another $4 to his order!”

            I guess that’s one way to look at it. I would imagine most use cases would be: “this person is from Extremely Rich Estates”, so lets tack on an extra $10 to their order. Or this person wants their order first, so charge a premium. Welcome to tipping the bartender hard to get noticed (also dynamic pricing is it not?)

            I don’t get why you want to negatively use dynamic pricing, that seems counter productive to making money, but whatever.

            People in business do it all the time already: I get jobs I don’t want to do, I ask for a lot to do it. I get a job that I know will lead to more jobs, I charge less. I get a job for a wealthy person I charge more so I can do work on the cheap for someone who needs it.

            Look at the end of the day I think I have been clear: its the data collection that bothers me the most. Which fits into your argument, I don’t want any personal identifiable information, or race, or address, or location, etc collected. Period. For any damn reason. THAT is what needs to be illegal. If they want to say more people come in at lunch, and the longer the line gets the more they want to charge, fine.