Thread

DraftKings is using AI to behaviorally target chronic gamblers

570 points · 432 comments · paimapi

tedivm · 1790700196 · focus · HN ↗
ProPublica had one of their reports work with gambling addition experts to see how DraftKings would respond to someone presenting signs of a gambling problem. It's a hell of a read, and makes it clear that this company is full of people with absolutely no ethics whatsoever.
<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/draftkings-sports-gambling-problem-vip-fanduel" rel="nofollow">https://www.propublica.org/article/draftkings-sports-gamblin...
1. WheelsAtLarge · 1790703876 · focus · HN ↗
  People in companies that are a negative public good are by definition unethical. I'm not surprised by anything they do. The real problem is how we've let these companies infiltrate so much of our society so fast. I can't consume any ad supported media without getting some ad about them. This company really defines the phrase "money talks"
  1. m463 · 1790708972 · focus · HN ↗
    They're built on adtech, which people don't understand.
    You have many adtech online dossiers that are basically a virtual you, that can be poked, prodded and studied for interests and behaviors.
    for a very minimal look, maybe check out amazon "about you":
    <a href="https://www.amazon.com/slc/hub?useAiMode=1" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/slc/hub?useAiMode=1
    locusofplenty · 1790710333 · focus · HN ↗
    Interestingly it said absolutely nothing about all the sex toys and fetish clothing I buy. Something tells me this is only the tip of the iceberg.
    m463 · 1790712845 · focus · HN ↗
    I suspect this is "about you - that you won't choke on"
    ted_bunny · 1790764635 · focus · HN ↗
    "And we know you would like that, dirty dog"
    Ferret7446 · 1790713518 · focus · HN ↗
    I wouldn't be surprised if they actually filtered those out of your ad target model. Most people don't care if advertisers know they like cooking, but not so much their fetishes
    m463 · 1790714434 · focus · HN ↗
    I deleted everything from the "about you" page and still get pretty much hte same recommendations.
    orlp · 1790716969 · focus · HN ↗
    Unless proven otherwise I assume any delete button in 2026 is just
    UPDATE tracking_data SET shown_in_interface = false WHERE account_name = 'm463'
    yndoendo · 1790727303 · focus · HN ↗
    How many shadow accounts do you think Amazon has to try and track people who don't have an Amazon account?
    One reason privacy laws are a joke. We are not tracking you directly, indirectly and in accordance with the law.
    lazide · 1790771488 · focus · HN ↗
    I would assume it’s worse
    “SET pretend_to_hide_due_to_customer_shame = true”, lol.
    No way they’d not use THAT as a training metric too.
    gman2093 · 1790710907 · focus · HN ↗
    Wow, that is wild.
    "Is an expert at making pasta salad"
    I am pretty good. I forgot I got those ingredients at WF. I guess it liked that recipe.
    intended · 1790714371 · focus · HN ↗
    Holy heck.
    > Systematically completes series once started
    > Likely listens to music or audio content with critical attention
    gerdesj · 1790715680 · focus · HN ↗
    "About you
    We haven't saved anything yet. As you shop on Amazon or chat with Alexa, we'll save helpful information to personalise your experience.
    Once we have saved some details, you can manage them here."
    I've had that account since ... well, I can see orders back to 2011.
    pandaman · 1790717092 · focus · HN ↗
    Yet I keep getting ads in Spanish on Amazon Prime video and nobody in our household understands that language. We don't listen to Mexican polka music or watch telenovelas with subtitles, we don't have Spanish-speaking help, there is literally zero Spanish in our house. And it's not Spanish-only ads, it's usually big telco (T-Mobile now, some other before) or car ads, which sometimes run in English version. The list at the link is primarily a collection of the random facts from reviews for me, so it knows a lot about my cats but not much about me. Feel pretty comfy if this is the SOTA of adtech.
    burnished · 1790720840 · focus · HN ↗
    Neighbors and thin walls perhaps?
    pandaman · 1790721789 · focus · HN ↗
    Live in a house, there are some Mexican polka aficionados driving their low-riders down the street (I live in Texas) but it only reaches inside as base. Even if Amazon could have found the music they play by matching the rhythm, it does not look like a smart decision to target Spanish ads on this basis. Other than Prime Video, which I don't use quite often, I subscribe to Audible and Kindle, with perhaps 1000 of titles between these two. None in Spanish.
    Spotify has the same issue (they play ads in podcasts despite paying for subscription) but I don't know if their ads are just local ads made in Spanish only (I live in Texas) since I have no clue what they advertise. They also play ads in what I believe is Canadian French because it does not sound quite like French (which I also don't know but can understand a bit better than Spanish).
    nunez · 1790729111 · focus · HN ↗
    "Mexican Polka" is Tejano music; it got its Polka roots from Germans that settled there but is its own thing and it is FRICKIN' AMAZING.
    pandaman · 1790731085 · focus · HN ↗
    You actually made me look: according to Wikipedia it was brought by a Mexican Emperor, Maximilian I (former archduke of Austria, brother of Franz Joseph of the World War I fame). Don't care about this kind of music but somehow I never learned that Mexico had not one, but two empires among other things between the modern federal state and a Spanish colony.
    1. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norte%C3%B1o_(music)#Origins" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norte%C3%B1o_(music)#Origins
    [deleted] · 1790786987 · focus · HN ↗
    [deleted]
    kotaKat · 1790717964 · focus · HN ↗
    I pulled that info from a full export of my Amazon data and...
    "Customer indicated they are currently in the Pacific Ocean" - "Amazon has medium confidence in the validity of this memory"
    Well, then. I guess trying to break Alexa for Shopping by telling it I was in the middle of the English Channel really broke my "about you".
    I also had managed to update my About You in weird ways - I got it to accept some kind of variant of "is a gold rewards subscriber of Jeff's Benzos powered by PillPack" and it agreed that was a valid service when I later asked it and guardrailed itself at the same time:
    <a href="https://i.ibb.co/Fkh94dv9/photo-2026-08-24-11-22-27.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://i.ibb.co/Fkh94dv9/photo-2026-08-24-11-22-27.jpg
    jen_h · 1790719335 · focus · HN ↗
    That wasn't really alarming to me, "Likely reads diverse literary fiction." Nice.
    But what _was_ alarming was this persistent banner on the page: "Your other AI assistants have learned about you. Bring that knowledge here for an even more personalized experience."
    Okay...so let's click *Import* and see what this is all about...
    Step 1: Copy [prompt](<a href="https://gist.github.com/jenh/dcad304585e23fccc50ac514bc3605c8" rel="nofollow">https://gist.github.com/jenh/dcad304585e23fccc50ac514bc3605c...).
    (!!!)
    Step 2: Log into your AI assistant and paste it in.
    (?!, okay, let's see what we get...)
    Step 3: Paste AI assistant's response. Submit the response from your AI assistant below. We will remember the information you share to improve your experience across Amazon services. *To protect your privacy, we may not save all of the information you submit.*
    How about...don't do this at all, or at the very least, please ask users to review the returned response for things they might not want to share with Amazon.
    What a strange, hokey, non-vetted, and privacy-violating feature...
    girvo · 1790751297 · focus · HN ↗
    Fascinating that mine says it has nothing! I've ordered so much from amazon too, wild.
    jacobolus · 1790786561 · focus · HN ↗
    Uh oh:
    Hobbies and interests: Collects jelly beans systematically
    I guess that's what I get for buying 4 different types of jelly beans one time.

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