Delta Expands AI Pricing Amid Lawmaker Privacy Concerns

President Donald Trump unveiled the America’s AI Action Plan, emphasizing deregulation, infrastructure investment, and AI systems designed to uphold freedom of speech and American values, while removing references to topics such as misinformation and diversity from federal AI risk frameworks. Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines is aggressively expanding its use of AI-driven personalized pricing, aiming to apply this technology to 20% of its fares by year-end, stirring concerns among lawmakers and consumer advocates about potential discriminatory pricing and privacy invasions. A group of Democratic senators formally challenged Delta's CEO over the use of AI to identify customers' 'pain points' to maximize profits, warning this could lead to unfair fare increases and discriminatory practices. Delta insists it does not use personal data to target individual customers with different prices, disputing allegations of 'surveillance pricing.' In contrast, American Airlines publicly opposes AI-based personalized pricing, labeling it a deceptive 'bait and switch' tactic, and has instead focused on other controversial pricing strategies like charging solo travelers higher fares. The debate highlights the growing tension in the airline industry over the ethical use of AI in pricing amid technological advancements and regulatory scrutiny.