McDonald's is using an AI-driven pricing platform that suggests menu prices for individual franchise locations based on local customers' willingness to pay, according to Reuters. The system tracks whether franchisees deviate from its recommendations, and researchers found a Big Mac priced 21% higher at one Fresno store than another just two miles away. McDonald's says the tool offers recommendations rather than mandates and called the reporting 'speculative and uninformed.'
tech.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-29
Sociologist Lindsay Owens has published 'Gouged: The End of a Fair Price—and What That Means for Your Wallet,' arguing that post-pandemic price increases stemmed largely from corporate pricing decisions rather than supply-and-demand dynamics. Owens, a Stanford-trained sociologist and Capitol Hill veteran, first raised the argument in a viral 2022 tweet that led to a New York Times essay before developing it into a full book examined in this review.
prospect.org
· 2026-09-29
A new book and recent reports describe how companies are using vast troves of consumer data combined with AI to calculate individualized prices for online shoppers, rather than setting prices based on product cost or general market value. The pricing can vary from person to person depending on data profiles rather than the item itself.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-29
Reuters reports that McDonald's has deployed AI-based dynamic pricing tools across US and some global franchise locations, adjusting menu prices based on local 'customer willingness to pay.' Documents reviewed by Reuters show a Big Mac priced $5.69 at one Fresno store and $6.89 at another two miles away, and McDonald's now requires franchisees to 'constructively engage' with its approved pricing tools while tracking deviations from algorithmic recommendations.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-29
A tech advisory piece compares building a gaming PC yourself versus buying prebuilt, noting that self-builds offer full component control but require troubleshooting skills and patience. Prebuilt systems, by contrast, work out of the box, come with a single warranty covering all parts, and benefit from manufacturers' bulk-purchasing discounts, though they can be harder to upgrade later.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-29
Author Lindsay Owens argues in her new book Gouged that surveillance pricing—where companies use personal data to set individualized prices—does not benefit ordinary shoppers as often claimed. She disputes the notion that such pricing acts like a 'Robin Hood' mechanism, charging wealthier customers more and poorer customers less.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-29
OpenAI paused new sign-ups for its $200 ChatGPT Pro tier on September 10 after heavy demand, leaving the $100 Pro plan as the top option for new buyers. OpenAI executive Thibault Sottiaux says sign-ups will reopen September 30 at the same $200 price, but with roughly half the previous API-dollar allowance and no five-hour usage cap. TestingCatalog has also spotted an unannounced $500/month 'Pro Max' tier appearing in the subscription interface.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-09-29
Lindsay Owens, CEO of Groundwork Collaborative and former economic adviser to Senator Elizabeth Warren, discusses her new book 'Gouged: The End of a Fair Price and What That Means for Your Wallet' in an interview timed to its release. She argues that software and algorithmic tools have enabled companies to move away from fixed pricing toward personalized, variable pricing that can disadvantage consumers, and warns that generative AI could accelerate this trend.
wired.com
· 2026-09-29
Deloitte's 2026 State of AI in the Enterprise found worker access to AI tools rose 5% in 2025, and the share of companies running at least 40% of AI projects in production is expected to double within six months. The report frames this shift as AI moving from isolated pilots to always-on production workloads spanning customer service, IT, research and business-process agents.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-09-29
OpenAI announced it will reopen its $200 Pro subscription to new subscribers, alongside a change to how usage is calculated that effectively halves the equivalent API spend compared to the previous version of the plan. The company says it will not reintroduce a prior 5-hour usage limit, and plans to add new subscription features, not yet detailed, that won't count against usage limits. OpenAI also noted it recently cut prices on its GPT-6 Sol and GPT-6 Luna models by 50%.
twitter.com
· 2026-09-29
A study published in JAMA and led by patent-law researcher S. Sean Tu found that the average number of patents on small-molecule drugs rose from 2.1 per drug approved in 1990 to 6.9 for drugs approved in 2019. Most of the increase came from 'nonprimary' patents covering things like inactive ingredients, usage instructions, or delivery devices rather than the drug's core active ingredient. The researchers calculated that this expanded patent protection now extends effective monopoly periods from an average of two years to about 6.1 years.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-28
Walmart CEO John Furner stated in a website post that the company does not and will not set prices based on customer income, shopping history, willingness to pay, or time of day. The statement comes as Walmart expands digital shelf labels, which already operate in 2,300 U.S. stores and are expected to reach all locations within a year.
news.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-28
GoKawiil