**Algorithms and Capitalism: Cleaning Up The Waze Parade**

The air is thick with discontent. A simmering sense of unease pervades every aspect of our lives, from the social media feeds our kids distrust to the online prices that seem tailored to our wallets alone. We're convinced that something's amiss in the complex web of capitalism and technology that we've grown accustomed to.

Two recent news stories only serve to heighten this feeling of disillusionment. The first, from The New York Times, reveals that digital aggregators like Instacart are using sophisticated algorithms to extract maximum profit from each consumer interaction. Dynamic pricing, the practice of adjusting prices in real-time based on user data and market conditions, has become an inevitable consequence of capitalism colliding with the digital economy.

It seems my wife was right all along: online prices do indeed reflect what these platforms think we can afford to pay – not what's fair or offered to others. This realization is both unsettling and illuminating, highlighting the insidious ways in which technology companies are manipulating consumer behavior for profit.

The second story, uncovered by 404 Media, exposes a more egregious example of this phenomenon: Meta's Instagram injecting AI-generated content into Google search results to drive traffic back to its platform. This is "growth hacking" at its most brazen – and my kids' skepticism about their social media feeds is vindicated.

What connects these two stories is the way tech platforms treat consumers as mere inputs, rather than valued customers with agency and choice. We're being manipulated by forces we can't see or understand, forced to navigate a complex web of algorithms and incentives that prioritize profit over people.

We've all been part of a "Waze parade" at some point – blindly following the algorithm's instructions through unfamiliar streets just to save a few seconds of time. It feels like this is happening everywhere now, across every digital surface controlled by a profit-seeking technology company. We're trapped in an algorithmic prison, and it's time to escape.

But how? One possible solution lies in personal AI agents – ones that work only for us, not corporate interests. I've written about the challenges facing these agents, but I'm also heartened by efforts like "conscious commerce," a movement led by Consumer Reports and others to build an economy centered around consumer needs rather than profit.

This vision of conscious commerce is both audacious and necessary – a chance to reboot our relationship with technology and reclaim agency in the digital age. As one advocate puts it, we have a choice: "We can build an economy that's even more by advertising and other perverse incentives...or we can be intentional about creating something much more consumer-centric."

Join me next time as I continue to explore this critical issue – sign up for my site newsletter here. Thanks for reading.