Delta -Scandal emphasizes value of transparency
According to Delta, the company has “zero tolerance for discriminatory or predatory prices” and it only feeds its AI system aggregated data “to improve our existing tariff price processes.”
Instead of basing tariff prices on the personal information of customers, clarified Carter that “all customers have access to the same rates and offers based on objective criteria provided by the customer, such as origin and destination, prior purchase, stay, reimbursement and travel experience selected.”
The AI use can lead to higher or lower prices, but no personalized rates for different customers, Carter said. Instead, Delta is planning to use AI prices to “improve the competitiveness of the market and to stimulate sales, which improves both our customers and our activities”.
Factors that are weighted by the AI system explained Carter, “include” the customer's question for seats and purchasing data at an aggregated level, competitive offers and schedules, route performance and costs for supplying the service including aircraft fuel. ” That could possibly mean that the promotion of a rival or the planning change could activate the AI system to lower prices to remain competitive, or it can increase prices based on rising fuel costs to increase sales or achieve business goals.
“Given the tens of millions of rates and hundreds of thousands of routes for sale at any time, it promises to streamline the use of new technology such as AI with which we can analyze existing data and the speed and scale to which we can respond to the changing market dynamics,” Carter wrote.
He explained that the AI system helps to collect delta purchasing data for specific routes and flights, to adapt to new market conditions and to be a factor in “thousands of variables at the same time”. AI could eventually also be used to help plan crew members, improve the availability of flights or help reservation specialists in answering complex questions or resolving disputes.
But “to repeat, prices are not aimed at individual consumers,” Carter emphasized.
Delta also pointed out that the company does not require customers to log in to look for tickets, which means that customers can look for flights without sharing personal information.
For AI companies that pay attention to the Delta refund, there may be a lesson about the value of transparency in the Delta scandal. Critics noted that Delta was one of the first to admit that the AI used to influence the prices, but the vague explanation about the profit of profit fired confusion about how, while Delta seemed to drag his feet in the midst of calls by groups such as consumer watchdog for more transparency.
