How Uber uses AI to charge you more

Uber once sold riders on a simple promise: Order a car right from your phone for less than a taxi. One major change happened behind the scenes: up-front pricing. Instead of relying on a predictable rate based largely on time and distance, Uber now uses algorithms and a range of real-time factors to determine what riders pay and what drivers earn. Since then, prices have risen dramatically. From 2018 to 2022, average Uber fares in the US rose 83%, nearly four times the annual rate of inflation.…