today in capitalism: landlords are using an AI tool to collude and keep rent artificially high
But according to the U.S. government’s case, YieldStar’s algorithm can drive landlords to collude in setting artificial rates based on competitively-sensitive information, such as signed leases, renewal offers, rental applications, and future occupancy.
One of the main developers of the software used by YieldStar told ProPublica that landlords had “too much empathy” compared to the algorithmic pricing software.
“The beauty of YieldStar is that it pushes you to go places that you wouldn’t have gone if you weren’t using it,” said a director at a U.S. property management company in a testimonial video on RealPage’s website that has since disappeared.