参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦与另外四名立法者在一封致麦当劳首席执行官克里斯·凯姆普辛斯基的信中质疑该公司使用算法定价工具，信件已与路透社共享。
Senator Elizabeth Warren and four other lawmakers questioned McDonald's (MCD.N) use of algorithmic pricing tools in a letter to CEO Chris Kempczinski, which the lawmakers shared with Reuters.
信件日期为11月2日，引用了9月29日的路透社报道，该报道发现麦当劳使用机器学习算法为每家餐厅的每个菜单项目生成公司称之为“最佳价格”的建议，部分依据估计每家门店常客愿意支付的金额。
The letter, dated November 2, cites a Reuters story from September 29 that found McDonald’s uses machine learning algorithms to generate what the company calls the “optimal price” recommendations for each menu item at each restaurant, based in part on an estimate of how much each store’s typical patrons are willing to pay.
信中写道：“我们担心麦当劳可能利用人工智能迫使消费者支付更高价格，并且其人工智能定价工具可能促成本应竞争的加盟商之间的勾结。”信件由马萨诸塞州民主党参议员沃伦以及民主党众议员格雷格·卡萨尔、贝卡·巴林特、耶稣·加西亚和玛丽·盖伊·斯坎隆签署。
“We are concerned that McDonald’s may be using AI to squeeze consumers into paying higher prices, and that its AI pricing tools may facilitate collusion between franchisees who should be operating as competitors,” reads the letter, which was signed by Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, along with Democratic Representatives Greg Casar, Becca Balint, Jesus Garcia and Mary Gay Scanlon.
信中向凯姆普辛斯基提出若干问题，包括定价工具是否使用麦当劳忠诚度计划中的个人消费者数据，加盟商如何被鼓励使用该工具，以及在工具部署前是否进行了反垄断审查。立法者要求在11月16日前给出答复。
The letter asks Kempczinski several questions, including whether the pricing tools use individual consumer data from McDonald's loyalty program, how franchisees might be encouraged to use the tools, and what antitrust review was done before the tools’ deployment. The lawmakers requested a response by November 16.
麦当劳未对关于此信的置评请求作出回应。在此前路透社报道后发表的声明中，麦当劳表示其定价工具不基于个人客户的推荐。它还表示加盟商可以自由设定自己的价格，其定价工具“不是强制性的”。公司还将路透社的报道描述为“推测性且无根据”，称其“试图将一种标准商业实践重新包装为争议性事物”。三名加盟商在路透社9月的报道中表示，定价引擎的建议已扩大了附近餐厅之间的价格差距。
McDonald's did not respond to a request for comment about the letter. In a statement following the earlier reporting by Reuters, it said its pricing tools do not base recommendations on individual customers. It also said its franchisees are free to set their own prices and that its pricing tools are “not a mandate.”The company also described Reuters reporting as “speculative and uninformed” claims that “attempt to recast a standard business practice as something controversial.”Three franchisees told Reuters for its September story that the pricing engine’s recommendations have widened price differences between nearby restaurants.
两起消费者集体诉讼近几周在联邦法院提起，指控该公司通过一个集中式的算法定价系统，非法协调加盟店和直营店的菜单价格。
Two consumer class action lawsuits have been filed in federal court in recent weeks alleging the company illegally coordinates menu prices across franchisees and company-owned restaurants through a centralized algorithmic pricing system.
“AI 不会设定巨无霸或任何其他菜单项目的价格，”该公司在第一起诉讼提起后表示。该公司称，加盟店自行做出定价决定，且使用定价推荐工具和分析手段是普遍做法。
"AI does not set the price of a Big Mac or any other menu item," the company said after the first suit was filed. It said franchisees make their own pricing decisions and that the use of pricing recommendation tools and analytics is widespread.