Karl Bode4d ago
it's so adorable watching them sheepishly start to admit there's a disconnect between the huge outpouring of AI money and actual impact and profitability

Uber burned through its entire...
Uber burned through its entire 2026 AI budget in four months. Now its COO is questioning whether it’s worth it

The rideshare giant's COO says “it’s very hard to draw a line” between rising AI costs and useful features for customers.

Fortune
Show threadAlexTECPlayz

@karlbode.com I constantly wonder what else do ride-sharing apps need to add as a feature...

You have an app, you open it, write or tap a location you want to arrive at, you tap, write or use GPS to get the starting location, pick a tier of car (e.g. the more greener option, women-only, comfort, comfort plus or some other tier), it looks for nearby drivers, one of them may accept, the driver comes and picks you up and drops you off where needed, with a live location sharing feature.

What else could you possibly need?

May 28 at 2:30amWeb
Show threadceets4d ago

@karlbode.com @alextecplayz

more managers brainstorming ways to destroy workers rights

Show threadThe Lack Thereof 4d ago
@alextecplayz
Mostly, figuring out which drivers and riders can safely be price gouged, and which ones need the hook set a little deeper first
Show threadAlexTECPlayz4d ago
@lackthereof I mean Bolt and Uber already do that, it's a built-in algorithm that hikes up the price in specific areas where there's more orders or whatever.
Show threadThe Lack Thereof 3d ago

@alextecplayz
There's more to it than that, Lyft and Uber both have additional algorithms that tweak rates based on the particular user/account history

A rider who books the same route at the same time every day will be given higher prices for that trip than one who makes the same trip rarely or only once.

A driver who accepts every offered fare without fail will be given a lower and lower cut of the payment than one who picks and chooses.

These algorithms are endlessly twiddleable and tunable, with constant iteration and A/B testing happening, live, on actual users, trying to probe out the actual highest cost the market will bear for each individual user & operator at every moment. That's the Uber platform's real product and technology, not the provisioning of rides to riders.

Show threadDec [{()}]3d ago
@lackthereof @alextecplayz
A driver who picks and chooses will be offered better fares and/or more optimal routes.
It's more fun for food delivery apps: they can price-gouge 3 different parties on every order.
I have heard anecdotes about some food delivery platforms offering their riders longer journeys to get to the next pickup point if they only have one platform's app installed.
Riders who gig for more than one platform tend to get offered the next job closer to where they last dropped off.
Show threadDec [{()}]3d ago

@lackthereof @alextecplayz
Also in the food delivery sector:

CONSUMERS! Earn air miles!
https://www.avios.com/en-GB/collect-avios/shopping/retailers/deliveroo-uk/

RIDERS! Get an exclusive discounted eSIM, cheaper petrol, free coffee!
https://riders.deliveroo.com/en/news/exclusive-mobile-deals-for-deliveroo
"To keep your rider perks active, you’ll need to complete orders with Deliveroo every couple of weeks."