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All sorts of consumer-facing companies seem excited about the potential to use artificial intelligence to set prices. There’s only one problemconsumers hate it. So-called dynamic-pricing strategies offer the possibility of tweaking prices according to changing external circumstances, shifting demand, even individual consumer situations. If combining the practice with cutting-edge technology sounds alarming, youve identified the problem companies are facing: how to talk about their AI-driven pricing plans without scaring customers, sparking backlash, and drawing terrible press and even legislative scrutiny. As soon as you talk about dynamic pricing, there is immediately repulsion by consumers, says Stephan Liozu, chief value officer at Zilliant, a pricing management and optimization software firm. There’s no positive first impression in the consumer. This has long held true for examples like simple price gouging (jacking up prices when consumers have limited options, such as for gas or ice after a natural disaster), but sophisticated tech-driven iterations are just as reviled. Theres a lack of understanding of why this is done, so the consumer thinks its all about profit, Liozu says. And in a way, it is. In a world where backlash can be spread rapidly on social media and amplified by the traditional press, thats a dynamic brands cant shrug off. The latest example involves an industry already known for opaque pricing strategies. In an earnings call in July, the president of Delta Air Lines noted that the carrier is experimenting with ways to use AI to generate a price thats available on that flight, on that time, to you, the individual. Delta already uses AI to drive personalized pricing on 3% of its flights, he added, and aims to bump that to 20% by the end of the year. When this was reported, it sparked a rush of criticism from consumer advocates and politicians. Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego called it predatory pricing. Admittedly, the critics had little if any specific knowledge of the factors Deltas AI pricing procedure actually entails, but thats sort of the point of the criticism. In the absence of transparency, its easy to invent Black Mirror-like scenarios. Think about one popular hypothetical: AI deduces youre going to a funeral and will pay more than usual for a flight. Delta has denied that anything like this has happened or is planned, and insists its pricing is based on interpreting market conditions, not individual data. Dynamic pricing isn’t new Dynamic pricing isnt exactly new; youve experienced it if youve ever purchased off-season theme park tickets or traveled in peak holiday windows. That doesnt always mean outright price gouging or unfair price manipulation. But the idea of turning to sophisticated and inscrutable technology to bolster the practice can feel unnerving, perhaps especially as it works its way into everyday categories from fast food to retail. Liozu, the pricing expert, has argued that ultimately dynamic pricing is just a tool, and its impact is shaped by human decisions: People decide what data goes into the algorithm. People choose what variables it prioritizes. People determine the thresholds for price changes and approve the pricing strategies the algorithm supports. But AI critics and enthusiasts alike tend to focus more on the power of the algorithms. Theres a bigger fear (and likelihood, Liozu suggests) that the practice will spread across all sorts of categories, especially online. A January Federal Trade Commission report on what the agency termed surveillance pricing found that details like a persons precise location or browser history can be frequently used to target individual consumers with different prices for the same goods and services. That would be a big change: Set prices have been routine since they replaced individual bargaining in retail scenarios in the late 19th century. And Delta is not the first to face a backlash in response to disclosing pricing experiments. Last year, Wendys endured a wave of criticism after its CEO mentioned during an earnings call that the burger chains new digital menu boards might enable dynamic pricing and day-part offerings along with AI-enabled menu changes and suggestive selling. He did not use the term surge pricingassociated with ride-share servicesbut much of the news coverage of his statements did. Eventually Wendys explicitly said it had no plans to raise prices at busy times. The Delta incident brought even more critical scrutiny, and that may be because the airline industry is already associated with highly variable pricing that can seem to consumers like a black box. Add AI to the mix, and its like tossing a heavy blanket over the black box, leaving customers feeling powerless. As Gallego and other senators argued in a statement, AI-fueled pricing will likely mean fare price increases up to each individual consumers personal pain point. Delta denied that, too, in a statement reported by Reuters assuring the senators (and fliers): There is no fare product Delta has ever used, is testing or plans to use that targets customers with individualized prices based on personal data. It’s not clear how much scrutiny will continue from the FTC under the Trump administration, which has signaled a light regulatory touch on AI. But that is unlikely to resolve the fears and pushback of many consumers. Liozu argues that companies moving toward AI-driven dynamic pricing need to operate with more transparency and communication, thinking in terms of explainable AI. That means they also need to tweak their actual beavior: Do pricing research around what is too much for consumers, right? How frequently do you change your prices? We need to figure out in dynamic pricing what’s the floor and what’s the ceiling after which its considered unfair, he says. Most important, Liozu adds, companies need to communicate that to consumers. Gallego complained that Delta is telling their investors one thing, and then turning around and telling the public another. Companies dont seem to have figured out how to talk to consumers about AI-guided pricing strategies in ways that show they care about the consumer impact. As Liozu puts it: You need to be able to tame your algorithms.
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AI skeptics have found a new way to express their disdain for the creeping presence of artificial intelligence: through slurs. Out on the streets and in stores, people have begun harassing robots they encounter in the wild. (Anyone else feel a bit sorry for the robot?) Online, the internet has revived a Star Warsinspired insult, clanker, with Google Trends data showing a spike in searches for the term in early June. @semdenpriv original sound – semdenpriv POV: Me at the clanker rally in 2088, one TikTok user joked. Keep your oily soulless clanker hands away from my delicious human food, another X user wrote in response to a clip of Elon Musks Optimus robot dishing out popcorn at the Tesla Diner (not a sentence I ever thought Id write). Keep your oily soulless clanker hands away from my delicious human food https://t.co/DXF7JNKD0W— EckhartsLadder (@EckhartsLadder) July 20, 2025 The term has also been picked up by politicians. Sick of yelling ‘REPRESENTATIVE’ into the phone 10 times just to talk to a human being? Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) posted on X last month. My new bill makes sure you dont have to talk to a clanker if you dont want to. Sick of yelling REPRESENTATIVE into the phone 10 times just to talk to a human being? My new bill makes sure you dont have to talk to a clanker if you dont want to. pic.twitter.com/9aUv478gSP— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) July 30, 2025 While some direct their insults at the technology itself, others target those using AI systems. On one thread, suggestions for users of the xAI chatbot Grok included Grokkers, Groklins, and Grocksuckers. Meanwhile, on TikTok, someone coined sloppers for people becoming increasingly overreliant on ChatGPT. @intrnetbf shoutout to Monica. Incredible command over the English language original sound – intrnetbf The trend reflects a broader mood. Concerns about AI among U.S. adults have grown since 2021, according to the Pew Research Center. More than half (51%) say they are more concerned than excited about the technologys rise, with worries ranging from AI taking away jobs to chatbot addiction. Still, some see embracing new slurseven those aimed at robotsas problematic, especially when they echo existing racial slurs or stereotypes. @thebrookboys This bout to be the biggest fear for all Dads in year 2050 #meme #clanker #robo Bell Sound/Temple/Gone/About 10 minutes(846892) – yulu-ism project Others simply fear theyll regret their words later. As one X user wrote: I dont want to have to look a robot in the eye in fifty years and be like, you dont understand it was a different time star wars did give us a slur for robots (clankers) but i dont use it bc i dont want to have to look a robot in the eye in fifty years and be like you dont understand it was a different time— anna !!! (@frogs4girls) July 20, 2025
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In the late 2010s, cultured meat was everywhereand yet nowhere. From Reddit to major magazine covers, articles touted the latest advances in “lab-grown meat,” promising cruelty-free, environmentally friendly steaks at your local supermarket. The hype was palpable. One 2019 report predicted cultured meats would halve the number of cows on the planet by 2030, disrupting the world’s oldest industry by delivering ethical meat with negligible environmental impact that tasted identical to traditional meatand at a fraction of the price. [Photo: Vow] That promise of rapid disruption terrified conventional animal agriculture stakeholders. Under pressure from these livestock constituents, lawmakers in multiple states have banned this new protein source entirely. Florida and Alabama passed bans in 2024, with more states following. Indiana imposed a manufacturing moratorium with steep fines, Nebraska prohibited its production and sale, and Montanas governor signed legislation to ensure consumers could “continue to enjoy authentic meat.” In June, a Texas ban became law, with the state’s agriculture commissioner touting the “God-given right” to pasture-raised meateven though the vast majority of what Americans eat comes from industrial feedlots. But here’s the irony: Lawmakers are fighting a version of cultured meat that never materialized. Today, while you can eat cultured meat at more than 60 venues in Singapore and Australia, and cultured seafood at two restaurants in the U.S. at the time of this writing, it’s far from the rapid disruption that was forecasted. More than a decade after the world’s first cultured hamburger was announced, the hype has virtually disappeared.The reality of how and why this all transpired is complicated. However, we would argue that what we’re witnessing isn’t industry failure, but the natural evolution of a transformative invention finding its true market fit. Cultured meat technology works; what needed adjustment were the timelines and business models that promised too much, too quickly, and to replicate conventional meats that people already enjoy en masse.Rather than viewing this as a setback, some in the industry are discovering something potentially more valuable: sustainable, scalable pathways to market that don’t require displacing existing agriculture but can grow alongside it. As the industry turns the page to a new chapter, once uncertain regulatory pathways are now established in multiple countries. [Photo: Vow] The technology itself continues to advance. Production yields are improving, costs are declining, and new species beyond traditional livestock are proving viable for cultivation.More importantly, early market success demonstrates genuine consumer appetite. In Singapore, where cultured meat has been available the longest, restaurants report strong repeat customers and growing demand. In Australia, where cultured meat became available at dozens of restaurants in recent weeks, initial sales and demand for the items are taking off. Forged Cultured Japanese Quail Whipped Pate [Photo: Vow] This suggests cultured meat purveyors arent just scratching a theoretical itch, but delivering real value and excitement that consumers recognize and seek out.This reality is leading to a strategic pivot that may actually benefit both the industry and consumers: innovation over imitation. Rather than trying to perfectly replicate a chicken wing or rib-eye steakproducts that traditional animal agriculture already produces and consumers are accustomed tocompanies that are finding success are creating entirely new culinary experiences that excite chefs and diners alike. Forged Cultured Japanese Quail Foie Gras [Photo: Vow] Take Japanese quail, a species that demonstrates cultivated meat’s unique advantages. Traditional quail foie gras is impossible to produce commerciallythe birds are so petite that conventional methods are prohibitively labor-intensive, and the production process itself remains controversial. Japanese quail, however, proves remarkably well-suited for cultivation technology, enabling the creation of previously undoable delicacies like foie gras, whipped pâté, and even edible tallow candles. Forged Cultured Japanese Quail Tallow Candle [Photo: Vow] And Vow can make a lot of it. The company recently completed the largest cultured meat harvest in history: more than one metric ton of quail. And it projects it will have the capacity, by the end of 2025, to harvest up to 130 metric tons annually. While that’s still minimal compared with the 12.29 million metric tons of beef American farmers produced in 2023 and 2024, it is proof that cultured meat can offer consumers genuinely new choices and advance consumer acceptance. Its an illustration of how the industry can position itself as expanding culinary possibilities while avoiding potential conflicts with traditional agriculture.Rather than letting politicians dictate what should be on our plates in order to protect incumbent industries, we should trust consumers to decide for themselves. When given the freedom to choose, consumers are embracing these innovations as exciting additions to culinary experiences, the evidence suggests. Thats a decision best left to diners, not lawmakers.
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