Chances are, your online shopping experience have been dictated by an algorithm. But is online really cheaper than offline? Researches at the University of Bologna in Italy created two simple reinforcement-learning-based pricing algorithms and set them loose in a controlled environment to learn their behaviour. To their surprise, the prices of goods started to go higher when they learnt how to collude.

<p>Chances are, your online shopping experience have been dictated by an algorithm. But is online really cheaper than offline? Researches at the University of Bologna in Italy created two simple reinforcement-learning-based <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/612947/pricing-algorithms-can-learn-to-collude-with-each-other-to-raise-prices/" target="_blank">pricing algorithms</a> and set them loose in a controlled environment to learn their behaviour. To their surprise, the prices of goods started to go higher when they learnt how to collude.</p>

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