Delta airlines has announced a new surveillance pricing plan: they're going to feed an AI the nonconsensually harvested personal data that data-brokers and credit bureaux hold on you to predict the maximum you're willing to pay, and then price their tickets accordingly:

fortune.com/2025/07/16/delta-m

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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

pluralistic.net/2025/07/30/eff

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@pluralistic
In that case I ought to get to fly for free. Look at my finances and you’ll see I can’t afford anything.

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@Jeber
Are you purposefully omitting that you would be paying?

Studio ghibly would say that you are giving up your name, right?

@pluralistic

@admitsWrongIfProven @pluralistic
I’m dense sometimes. I don’t understand what you’re saying.

@Jeber
Sorry, i guess i was not clear...

I joked about you actually paying when you board a plane and give your personal data.

The studio ghibly thing was that in spirited away, the witch imprisoned people by taking away their names. I used that as a metaphor for taking peoples personal data because, you know, if people say a lot about you (and it might be wrong), you start questioning yourself.

@pluralistic

@admitsWrongIfProven @pluralistic
Gotcha. I don’t have much “personal” data left. I was assigned to the NSA while in the Army. I’m pretty sure there’s nothing about me they don’t know. Then again, I’m still a free man, so maybe they don’t know everything. 😏

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