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[-] Ulrich@feddit.org 289 points 5 days ago

I think it's generally a brilliant solution but there are a couple of problems here:

  1. The scanner seems to flag fucking everything and charge for minor damage where a human would probably flag it as wear.
  2. No one is allowed to correct the scanner:

Perturbed by the apparent mistake, the user tried to speak to employees and managers at the Hertz counter, but none were able to help, and all "pointed fingers at the 'AI scanner.'" They were told to contact customer support — but even that proved futile after representatives claimed they "can’t do anything."

Sounds to me like they're just trying to replace those employees. That's why they won't let them interfere.

[-] tiramichu@sh.itjust.works 77 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

I'm not sure how you can make the points you make, and still call it a "generally brilliant solution"

The entire point of this system - like anything a giant company like Hertz does - is not to be fair to the customer. The point is to screw the customer over to make money.

Not allowing human employees to challenge the incorrect AI decision is very intentional, because it defers your complaint to a later time when you have to phone customer support.

This means you no longer have the persuasion power of being there in person at the time of the assessment, with the car still there too, and means you have to muster the time and effort to call customer services - which they are hoping you won't bother doing. Even if you do call, CS hold all the cards at that point and can easily swerve you over the phone.

It's all part of the business strategy.

[-] Taleya@aussie.zone 9 points 5 days ago

That's why you chargeback. Don't waste time arguing with the machine, cut it off at the cashflow

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[-] MilitantAtheist@lemmy.world 34 points 4 days ago

Never rent a car from Hertz, check.

[-] KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml 21 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Hertz has also called the cops on their customers for a variety of asinine reasons.

I steer clear of them and Enterprise (Enterprise has been working the whole shaft for ICE).

[-] bcgm3@lemmy.world 57 points 4 days ago

Oh, so Hertz has gotten wise to... every online platform that exists: Outsourcing all responsibility for their user-hostile bullshit to some vague "system" that cannot be held accountable.

I'm so sorry but the advertised cost has doubled because... Computer says so! No, sir, there's nothing I can do, sir, you see it's the system.

And you can't go anywhere else, because everyone else is doing it (or soon will be) too!

[-] DarkSurferZA@lemmy.world 12 points 4 days ago

Oh, this is a thing. It's called an accountability sink.

There is a really interesting book called the unaccountability machine by Rory Sutherland (if my memory is working). Worth a read

[-] PrettyFlyForAFatGuy@feddit.uk 5 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Rory "expert in all things" Sutherland?

He keeps cropping up in my youtube feed talking about a huge range of topics in his confident posh twat voice.

His background is in marketing... never trust a salesman

[-] DarkSurferZA@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

Oh, he has some strange views, sure, but he is like that magician that tells everyone how the magic tricks are done, except this is marketing not magic, so both sides don't like him.

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[-] AppleTea@lemmy.zip 16 points 4 days ago

just wait till they start denying health insurance with it

I'm sorry ma'am I know you're upset, but the AI said it's not covered. The AI is numbers, and numbers don't lie.

[-] T156@lemmy.world 10 points 4 days ago

Do they already not do that? They just call it "the computer".

[-] AppleTea@lemmy.zip 10 points 4 days ago

I mean, it'll mostly be accelerating a trend that was already there. Also, the initial scramble to use the legal grey area to cover as much shady shit as possible in a: Well shucks, how were we supposed to know the neural net would make illegal denials? After all, the guys who trained it don't even know exactly why it does what it does kinda way

[-] Vorticity@lemmy.world 43 points 4 days ago

I get why they'd use something like this to save money and time but, is suspect that correct use would include a human check before charging people.

We need to start pushing for laws on this kind of thing. Automated checks are fine if you, as the company, trust they won't have too many false negatives. If you aren't checking for false positives, though, you should be heavily fined for each false report. $25,000 per false report sounds like a good place to start. Hopefully that would be large enough to not just be the cost of doing business.

[-] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 81 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

The term AI itself is a shifting of goalposts. What was AI 50 years ago* is now AGI, so we can call this shit AI though it's nothing of the sort. And everybody's falling for the hype: governments, militaries, police forces, care providers, hospitals... not to speak of the insane amounts of energy & resources this wastes, and other highly problematic, erm, problems. What a fucking disaster.

If it wasn't for those huge caveats I'd be all for it. Use it for what it can do (which isn't all that much), research it. But don't fall for the shit some tech bro envisions for us.

* tbf fucking around with that term probably isn't a new thing either, and science itself is divided on how to define it.

[-] entropicdrift@lemmy.sdf.org 11 points 5 days ago

It's also the other way around. What was called AI in the past is now called bots. Simple algorithms that approximate the appearance of intelligence like even the earliest chess engines, for instance, were also called AI.

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[-] llama@lemmy.zip 8 points 3 days ago

They know it doesn't work this is just a cash grab by rental car companies hoping to squeeze extra profit knowing most people won't fight it under the guise of digital transformation.

[-] Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 100 points 5 days ago

It's on brand. I pity the fool that doesn't know hertz is a fucked up rental agency

[-] darkdemize@sh.itjust.works 83 points 5 days ago

Isn't this the same company that called the police on legitimate customers after they messed up the paperwork?

[-] 01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 50 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Yes. And yes. And a short search shows quite a few blunders.

Edit. Autocorrect

[-] BullishUtensil@lemmy.world 40 points 5 days ago
[-] Passerby6497@lemmy.world 16 points 5 days ago

Holy shit. The contract that dude signed had a maximum fee of $35 for EV recharge, yet they charged him $277 and claimed the contract allowed that. Thankfully, the worst I've had from Hertz is they just told me to fuck off and didn't give me my reserved vehicle.

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[-] Impromptu2599@lemmy.world 47 points 5 days ago

They charged me for a broken windshield, which I paid and then wouldn't provide me a receipt for my insurance company. Then to top it off, they turned me into a collections agency because they said I didn't pay for the windshield. I will never rent from them again.

[-] Supervisor194@lemmy.world 28 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

And I will take this as my cue to mention that Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty are all the same company and they will each of them take every opportunity possible to fuck you.

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[-] pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com 88 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

I will bring this up again like I did my last post concerning Hertz.

While I was in Albuquerque, NM getting off the Amtrak train, I reserved our rental car from their website and went to the nonexistent address with no phone number or anything. After half an hour we called another Hertz and they basically told us to piss off and call the location we booked the car. I have few brands that I boycott and now they will be Nestle products (and sub companies) and Hertz.

[-] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 32 points 5 days ago

Nestle products (and sub companies)

That's a tall order. And just to be clear, not saying we should just give up against those numbers. It's not an all-or-nothing situation.

[-] boaratio@lemmy.world 11 points 4 days ago

"AI is a disaster." Fixed it for you.

[-] naught101@lemmy.world 44 points 5 days ago

Sounds like that shit with dodgy smoking detection in a hotel from last week..

[-] BackgrndNoize@lemmy.world 23 points 5 days ago

Yup intentionally using dogy tools to extract more money from people under false pretenses, at this point I'm boycotting any company that claims to use AI, fuck em all

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[-] InFerNo@lemmy.ml 14 points 5 days ago

Those do exactly what they're supposed to do. They're even explicitly advertised as providing new revenue streams.

[-] Vanth@reddthat.com 58 points 5 days ago

I am 0% surprised that Hertz would be the first in the US to roll this out. Expecting a Steve Lehto YouTube video about it within the next three days ...

[-] flop_leash_973@lemmy.world 29 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

You mean an LLM that doesn't have the ability to understand context fails to make decisions that require context to do properly? Shocking /s

[-] coach_cheese@lemmy.world 7 points 4 days ago

Except they are using computer vision, not an LLM

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[-] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 48 points 5 days ago

I'd ask for the stupid AI scanning system to scan my car before I agree to renting it. Once they sign off on the 'all clear' notification from their AI scanner before rental, then I'd consider renting it .... but after reading this headline, I'd probably just tell them, I'm spending a few hundred dollars more on renting a car from someone else.

[-] johntash@eviltoast.org 33 points 5 days ago

You should also ask for a copy of the pictures or videos it takes while scanning so you can reference when returning.

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[-] Clasm@ttrpg.network 27 points 5 days ago

Just spit balling here, but they probably tune the AI for different thresholds between return and rent out so that they can rake in the damage fees for things that "weren't there" during the first AI scan.

[-] AlecSadler 33 points 5 days ago

Okay so...in the rare event I need to rent a car, any suggestions on who to use that isn't Hertz and sister companies?

[-] callouscomic@lemmy.zip 20 points 5 days ago

I've had a lot of good recent experiences with Enterprise (in the US). There's some interesting services like Turo, but I can't bring myself to try it yet. Weirdly too personal being other people's cars.

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[-] dethmetaljeff@lemmy.ml 17 points 5 days ago

I recently used Avis, they were totally cromulent.

[-] WindyRebel@lemmy.world 13 points 5 days ago

Plus they are worshipped as a god in some sectors of the universe.

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[-] Bluefalcon@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 5 days ago

Fair game. Give me a grease pen and let me mark everything I see. By the time I'm done, they'll owe me money.

[-] Gates9@sh.itjust.works 13 points 5 days ago

Hertz is a ripoff and a hassle and little else

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this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2025
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