The impact of AI on Delta Airlines

The airlines' plan to use AI to set surveillance-based fares for customers could lead to exploitation, says a W. P. Carey information systems expert.

In this story aired Aug. 6, 2025, on Arizona Horizon:

To a certain extent, [price gouging] is a valid concern. There is a fine line between revenue optimization and exploitation. The concern is that companies actually use this sensitive data to profile customers and then exploit their vulnerabilities. So, for example, out of urgency or out of need, or because you have no choices, you have to accept the prices, and then that's a major concern.

— Pei-yu "Sharon" Chen, information systems chair and Red Avenue Foundation Professor