How to Beat Surveillance Pricing Before It Bleeds You Dry
Author Lindsay Owens discusses how technology and data harvesting have enabled companies to move away from fixed pricing toward variable 'surveillance pricing.' She suggests that generative AI may further exacerbate these unfair pricing practices.
Why it matters
It highlights how consumer data collection is being weaponized to maximize corporate profits at the expense of price transparency.
These core frustrations were what drew me to Gouged: The End of a Fair Price and What That Means for Your Wallet. Author Lindsay Owens knows what it's like to advocate for consumers' economic interests. She’s the CEO of Groundwork Collaborative, a DC think tank and corporate watchdog, and previously worked as an economic policy adviser in Senator Elizabeth Warren’s office.
Before the launch of her book, available now, we spoke about how software has been instrumental in changing how goods are priced, and how generative AI could make existing issues worse. Owens also shared a couple of tips for readers who want to claw back a fair price.
The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
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