The Rent Is Too Damn Algorithmic - Washington City Paper
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Attorney General Brian Schwalb is investigating RealPage, a company that helps landlords set rent prices, for potential antitrust violations.

The rent is too damn algorithmic — DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb is investigating RealPage, a company that helps landlords set rent prices, for potential antitrust violations::Attorney General Brian Schwalb is investigating RealPage, a company that helps landlords set rent prices, for potential antitrust violations.

    • chaorace@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
      92·
      1 year ago

      That… seems like a silly concern? At best I think you could pull off tricks based on specific timeslots of the day/week (e.g.: lunch rush, weekends, business hours) and most of that was already realistically feasible through bossing around normal humans – no tech required.

      Maybe I’m off-base, but it seems to me like the following things would severely hamper the efforts of anyone attempting to do this at scale:

      • Exploding the complexity and error surface across all price-setting procedures
      • Micromanaging, per location, when/how prices change to compensate for locality-specific stuff like daylight hours and foot traffic
      • Avoiding the very legally dubious scenario of prices autochanging in the time gap between taking an item off the shelf and paying at the register

      All of that effort in exchange for what? A few extra quarters on the margin if you do it right but losing a few dimes on the margin (or a class action suit) otherwise? I can already see middle-manager heads exploding in contrition. It might happen someday once active AI store management finally oozes into place… but until that day comes I think shoppers can feel safe knowing that they are merely getting gouged in the same old fashion as their forebearers.

    • Pika@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      11·
      1 year ago

      that’s gonna been with paper-based as well but yeah I can totally see it happening

      • deweydecibel@lemmy.worldEnglish
        7·
        1 year ago

        With paper based, they’re paying employees to go around and alter the prices, which is too expensive and time consuming.

        Digital price tags can be changed on the fly, at once, potentially even automatically.

      • agent_flounder@lemmy.oneEnglish
        6·
        1 year ago

        Uh not instantly. Not storewide in a moment. Make it networked and you can change prices per customer as they walk each aisle.

        • phx@lemmy.caEnglish
          1·
          1 year ago

          And that’s my point. The digital tags are already being setup that they can adjust within under a minute. People get off work at 4-5pm, better jack up prices for the next few hours!

          A bunch of people buying bread at a given time, jack up prices!

          Recorded a larger number of people entering through the front turnstile. Yup, pump up those prices!