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Related papers: Delegate Pricing Decisions to an Algorithm? Experi…

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The threat of algorithmic collusion, and whether it merits regulatory intervention, remains debated, as existing evaluations of its emergence often rely on long learning horizons, assumptions about counterparty rationality in adopting…

Multiagent Systems · Computer Science 2026-03-11 Yuhong Luo , Daniel Schoepflin , Xintong Wang

Recent scholarly work has extensively examined the phenomenon of algorithmic collusion driven by AI-enabled pricing algorithms. However, online platforms commonly deploy recommender systems that influence how consumers discover and purchase…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2024-12-17 Xingchen Xu , Stephanie Lee , Yong Tan

A principal contracts with an agent through an informed delegate. Although the principal cannot directly mediate the interaction, she can restrict the menus of contracts the delegate may offer. We characterize the outcomes implementable…

Theoretical Economics · Economics 2026-05-22 João Thereze , Udayan Vaidya

In the rapidly evolving landscape of eCommerce, Artificial Intelligence (AI) based pricing algorithms, particularly those utilizing Reinforcement Learning (RL), are becoming increasingly prevalent. This rise has led to an inextricable…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2024-06-06 Michael Schlechtinger , Damaris Kosack , Franz Krause , Heiko Paulheim

Recent work has proposed artificial intelligence (AI) models that can learn to decide whether to make a prediction for an instance of a task or to delegate it to a human by considering both parties' capabilities. In simulations with…

Human-Computer Interaction · Computer Science 2023-03-17 Patrick Hemmer , Monika Westphal , Max Schemmer , Sebastian Vetter , Michael Vössing , Gerhard Satzger

It is standard practice in online retail to run pricing experiments by randomizing at the article-level, i.e. by changing prices of different products to identify treatment effects. Due to customers' cross-price substitution behavior, such…

Applications · Statistics 2024-02-23 Lars Roemheld , Justin Rao

Given a batch of human computation tasks, a commonly ignored aspect is how the price (i.e., the reward paid to human workers) of these tasks must be set or varied in order to meet latency or cost constraints. Often, the price is set…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2014-08-28 Yihan Gao , Aditya Parameswaran

As AI usage becomes more prevalent in social contexts, understanding agent-user interaction is critical to designing systems that improve both individual and group outcomes. We present an online behavioral experiment (N = 243) in which…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2026-02-16 Kehang Zhu , Nithum Thain , Vivian Tsai , James Wexler , Crystal Qian

Pricing algorithms have demonstrated the capability to learn tacit collusion that is largely unaddressed by current regulations. Their increasing use in markets, including oligopolistic industries with a history of collusion, calls for…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2025-02-26 Paul Friedrich , Barna Pásztor , Giorgia Ramponi

We conduct experiments with algorithmic pricing agents based on Large Language Models (LLMs). In oligopoly settings, LLM-based pricing agents quickly and autonomously reach supracompetitive prices and profits. Variation in seemingly…

General Economics · Economics 2026-03-09 Sara Fish , Yannai A. Gonczarowski , Ran I. Shorrer

In this research, we investigate the impact of delegating decision making to information technology (IT) on an important human decision bias - the sunk cost effect. To address our research question, we use a unique and very rich dataset…

Human-Computer Interaction · Computer Science 2012-04-04 Philipp N. Herrmann , Dennis O. Kundisch , Mohammad S. Rahman

Decision-makers in high-stakes selection processes often face a fundamental choice: whether to make decisions themselves or to delegate authority to another entity whose incentives may only be partially aligned with their own. Such…

Computers and Society · Computer Science 2026-01-16 Benjamin Fish , Diptangshu Sen , Juba Ziani

Collaborative machine learning involves training models on data from multiple parties but must incentivize their participation. Existing data valuation methods fairly value and reward each party based on shared data or model parameters but…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2024-04-03 Rachael Hwee Ling Sim , Yehong Zhang , Trong Nghia Hoang , Xinyi Xu , Bryan Kian Hsiang Low , Patrick Jaillet

When online sellers use AI learning algorithms to automatically compete on e-commerce platforms, there is concern that they will learn to coordinate on higher than competitive prices. However, this concern was primarily raised in…

General Economics · Economics 2025-11-03 Hangcheng Zhao , Ron Berman

In a delegation problem, a principal P with commitment power tries to pick one out of $n$ options. Each option is drawn independently from a known distribution. Instead of inspecting the options herself, P delegates the information…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2022-03-03 Pirmin Braun , Niklas Hahn , Martin Hoefer , Conrad Schecker

Machine learning algorithms often make decisions on behalf of agents with varied and sometimes conflicting interests. In domains where agents can choose to take their own action or delegate their action to a central mediator, an open…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2021-06-09 Stephen McAleer , John Lanier , Michael Dennis , Pierre Baldi , Roy Fox

Algorithmic pricing is increasingly shaping market competition, raising concerns about its potential to compromise competitive dynamics. While prior work has shown that reinforcement learning (RL)-based pricing algorithms can lead to tacit…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-04-09 Sebastián Tinoco , Andrés Abeliuk , Javier Ruiz del Solar

Why do some investors delegate financial decisions to supposed experts? We report a laboratory experiment designed to disentangle four possible motives. Almost 600 investors drawn from the Prolific subject pool choose whether or not to…

General Economics · Economics 2024-04-16 Mikhail Freer , Daniel Friedman , Simon Weidenholzer

A growing body of computational studies shows that simple machine learning agents converge to cooperative behaviors in social dilemmas, such as collusive price-setting in oligopoly markets, raising questions about what drives this outcome.…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2025-12-23 Quentin Bertrand , Juan Duque , Emilio Calvano , Gauthier Gidel

AI agents are increasingly deployed in ecosystems where they repeatedly interact not only with each other but also with humans. In this work, we study these human-AI ecosystems from a theoretical perspective, focusing on the classical…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-12-01 Natalie Collina , Eshwar Ram Arunachaleswaran , Meena Jagadeesan