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You might be interested in what I like to think of as "the Karen manifesto" https://www.gwern.net/docs/economics/2020-arbel.pdf https://www.gwern.net/docs/econo

• walterbell 5y ago
  Fascinating article, thanks for the pointer. > Sellers, however, do not remain passive. They have long tried to minimize the legal and reputational risks posed by nudniks. The advent of big data and predictive analytics provides sellers with a game changer: the ability to identify which consumer is a potential nudnik (that is, which consumer is likely to complain publicly and draw attention to seller underperformance), before that consumer even sets foot in their store. Sellers can then silently disarm nudniks or avoid selling to them altogether. This development benefits sellers, as it reduces the legal and reputational risks from nudniks. It may even benefit nudniks themselves, to the extent sellers disarm them by offering them preferential treatment. Yet the development poses a large risk to the greater consumer body, as it deprives consumers of a valuable source of information on seller misbehavior, thereby reducing the effectiveness of market discipline.
  • amelius 5y ago
    > It may even benefit nudniks themselves, to the extent sellers disarm them by offering them preferential treatment. How is that different from simply complying if they complain, and offering them a modest compensation?
    • walterbell 5y ago
      Maybe it avoids the need to offer the same quality of service to all consumers?
      • seanp2k2 5y ago
        Sounds like automating personalized sales to me. Marketeers would love to get some kind of AI capable of this. I would personally love to see those “Hi! Any questions about anything?!” bottom-right corner chat dialogues go away forever, but alas.