From consumer sovereignty to algorithm-dependency? The case of shopping agents
Loading...
Authors
Author (Corporation)
Publication date
2026
Type of student thesis
Course of study
Type
04B - Conference paper
Editor (Corporation)
Supervisor
Parent work
Society 5.0. 5th International Conference Society 5.0 2025, San Benedetto Del Tronto, Italy, June 25–27, 2025, Revised Selected Papers
Special issue
DOI of the original publication
Link
Related research data
Series
Communications in Computer and Information Science
Series number
Volume
Issue / Number
Pages / Duration
38-49
Patent number
Publisher / Publishing institution
Springer
Place of publication / Event location
San Benedetto Del Tronto
Edition
Version
Programming language
Assignee
Practice partner / Client
Abstract
Most consumption and investment decisions are still made by humans today. But we already witness that such decisions are increasingly transferred to algorithms. The newest example, which caught a lot of attention, is the shopping agent “Operator”, which was launched by Open AI in the beginning of 2025. Advanced algorithms not only automatically identify needs but also search for optimal products and purchasing options and possess the potential to carry out the corresponding transactions themselves. They become “autonomous consumer buying agents”, or, in short, shopping agents, which are supposed to enable better consumption decisions in an environment of an ever-increasing and constantly changing variety of products. Consumers may save a lot of time, as shopping agents can screen a much larger number of products much faster than humans. Moreover, shopping agents can evaluate all offers based on criteria, which are supposed to be relevant to individual users. But at the same time, consumers gradually become dependent on shopping agents and lose their sovereignty. They have to “trust” decisions made by AI-based algorithms, which, however, do not necessarily make decisions in favor of consumers but rather in favor of their operators.
Keywords
Event
5th International Conference Society 5.0 2025
Exhibition start date
Exhibition end date
Conference start date
25.06.2025
Conference end date
27.06.2025
Date of the last check
ISBN
978-3-032-15462-0
978-3-032-15463-7
978-3-032-15463-7
ISSN
Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
Yes
Strategic action fields FHNW
Publication status
Published
Review
peer-reviewed
Open access category
Closed
Citation
Binswanger, M. (2026). From consumer sovereignty to algorithm-dependency? The case of shopping agents. In F. Corradini, K. Hinkelmann, H. Smuts, & B. Re (Eds.), Society 5.0. 5th International Conference Society 5.0 2025, San Benedetto Del Tronto, Italy, June 25–27, 2025, Revised Selected Papers (pp. 38–49). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-15463-7_4