Grift, Inc., a free public database at griftinc.com, documents how a subset of companies use artificial intelligence to extract more from their own customers and workers. Every case is tied to a matter of public record: a court filing, a regulator action, or sworn testimony. It is paired with a book of the same name, Grift, Inc. Volume 1: The Case Files.
The cases on the record
Each is framed as an allegation until a court resolves it, and each is linked to its source:
- /Amazon: algorithmic price testing. Active litigation (FTC v. Amazon); trial due in 2027.
- /UnitedHealthcare: ai claim denial. Active litigation (Estate of Lokken v. UnitedHealth).
- /Cigna: ai claim denial. Active litigation (Kisting-Leung v. Cigna).
- /RealPage: algorithmic price coordination. DOJ settled Nov 2025 (no financial penalty, no admission); state and private actions ongoing.
- /Live Nation / Ticketmaster: dynamic pricing. DOJ settled mid-trial (Mar 2026, court approval pending); a jury found for 33 states and DC (Apr 2026); remedies pending, with the states seeking a break-up.
- /Uber: wage suppression. Multi-jurisdictional litigation; UK Supreme Court ruled against Uber (2021).
- /Meta: engagement maximisation. Active litigation (41 states and DC).
- /Kroger and Wendy's: surveillance pricing. Pre-litigation: Congressional inquiry (Aug 2024); FTC study (initial findings Jan 2025).
The standard
What separates the database from commentary is its standard. Every claim is anchored to a primary source, confidence is flagged where evidence is partial, every company named is given its strongest defence before that defence is tested, and every company is offered a right of reply that is published in full. The full method is at griftinc.com/evidence-framework, and the database is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence.
“AI is a good tool. Some companies pointed it at their own customers. The database exists so that decisions like signing off a medical claim denial in 1.2 seconds stay on the record, with the filings behind them. It is a record, not a rant, and every company named can reply.”
Grift, Inc. is available now. It is the first of two books; the second, Aligned: How to Build AI People Can Trust, is in advance-reader release, with free copies at griftinc.com/free.
Notes to editors
About Grift, Inc.: a free public database documenting companies that used AI to take from their own customers and workers, paired with two books, Grift, Inc. and Aligned. The database is released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.
On sourcing: every case traces to a court filing, a regulator report or order, or sworn testimony, with investigative journalism used only to corroborate. Claims in live proceedings are allegations until a court resolves them.
Media contact: hello@griftinc.com