[HN Gopher] The Washington Post Is Using Reader Data to Set Subs...
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       The Washington Post Is Using Reader Data to Set Subscription Prices
        
       Author : kklisura
       Score  : 23 points
       Date   : 2026-03-14 20:18 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (washingtonian.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (washingtonian.com)
        
       | bethekidyouwant wrote:
       | Light on details. Could be as simple as user who reads a couple
       | articles a month gets a lower rate than someone who reads daily.
        
       | redgridtactical wrote:
       | This is just dynamic pricing with extra steps. Airlines have done
       | this for decades but at least they're transparent about it. The
       | difference here is that readers don't know the person next to
       | them is paying a different price for the same article. Once you
       | start using behavioral data to set prices, the incentive flips
       | from "make content worth paying for" to "figure out who's
       | desperate enough to pay more." Not a great look for a newspaper
       | that positions itself as a public service.
        
       | rimbo789 wrote:
       | Well this should be banned. Or at least watpo should be required
       | to be transparent about this whenever you subscribe
        
         | throwworhtthrow wrote:
         | Another situation where bad actors benefit. From the article:
         | 
         | > What really interests Cian, who has published research[1]
         | exploring how audiences tend to have less trust in media
         | outlets that are transparent about their AI use, is the fact
         | that the Post disclosed its use of algorithmic pricing at all.
         | "If you ask people [whether they] want transparency on what's
         | behind your pricing strategy, people say 'yes,'" he says. "But
         | what we found in my research is a paradox, in the sense that
         | people think that they want to know, but once they know, the
         | reaction is worse than not knowing."
         | 
         | > [1] https://ideas.darden.virginia.edu/AI-disclosure-dilemma
        
       | 1123581321 wrote:
       | Do these models try to factor the target's knowledge of what
       | things cost, or maybe even their knowledge of dynamic pricing or
       | discounting practices? That seems like it would not necessarily
       | inversely correlate with wealth.
       | 
       | To use an extreme example, you'd have wanted your model to have
       | offered Warren Buffet the base price, or even a deal.
        
       | like_any_other wrote:
       | > "This price was set by an algorithm using your personal data."
       | 
       | How's that "I have nothing to hide" working out?
        
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       (page generated 2026-03-14 23:01 UTC)