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DraftKings is using AI to behaviorally target chronic gamblers

570 points · 432 comments · paimapi

  1. tedivm · · 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:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.propublica.org&#x2F;article&#x2F;draftkings-sports-gambling-problem-vip-fanduel" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.propublica.org&#x2F;article&#x2F;draftkings-sports-gamblin...

    1. WheelsAtLarge · · focus · HN ↗
      People in companies that are a negative public good are by definition unethical. I&#x27;m not surprised by anything they do. The real problem is how we&#x27;ve let these companies infiltrate so much of our society so fast. I can&#x27;t consume any ad supported media without getting some ad about them. This company really defines the phrase &quot;money talks&quot;
      1. m463 · · focus · HN ↗
        They&#x27;re built on adtech, which people don&#x27;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 &quot;about you&quot;:

        <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;slc&#x2F;hub?useAiMode=1" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;slc&#x2F;hub?useAiMode=1

        1. locusofplenty · · 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.
          1. m463 · · focus · HN ↗
            I suspect this is &quot;about you - that you won&#x27;t choke on&quot;
            1. ted_bunny · · focus · HN ↗
              &quot;And we know you would like that, dirty dog&quot;
          2. Ferret7446 · · focus · HN ↗
            I wouldn&#x27;t be surprised if they actually filtered those out of your ad target model. Most people don&#x27;t care if advertisers know they like cooking, but not so much their fetishes
            1. m463 · · focus · HN ↗
              I deleted everything from the &quot;about you&quot; page and still get pretty much hte same recommendations.
              1. orlp · · 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 = &#x27;m463&#x27;
                1. yndoendo · · focus · HN ↗
                  How many shadow accounts do you think Amazon has to try and track people who don&#x27;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.

                2. lazide · · 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.

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