Could price-fixing AI be a reason for high rents in San Diego? Some think so NBC 7 San Diego [Video]

Is artificial intelligence artificially inflating San Diego’s rent prices? Some local community advocates think so and they’re calling on San Diego City Council to take action.

An annual survey by the Southern California Rental Housing Association found that despite San Diego County’s average rental prices dropping year-over-year, San Diegans are still paying a lot more for rent than the national average.

The high prices are due to a number of factors, including San Diego’s housing shortage, but some argue that price-fixing software like RealPage is also to blame, because the algorithms allow landlords to align their prices and avoid competition that would otherwise keep rents down.

A news conference was held on Wednesday morning outside San Diego City Hall to call for a citywide ordinance banning this type of software.

Serving Seniors is one of the local organizations supporting this ban. CEO Paul Downey said price-fixing software is driving rents up and pricing the …