# Consumer Autonomy or Illusion? Rethinking Consumer Agency in the Age of Algorithms

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.13440 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.13440/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 12 of its 133 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 19 Aug 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 12 of 12)

- [Equalizing Recourse across Groups](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.03166/) (2019)
- [Fairness Under Composition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1806.06122/) (2018)
- [Fairness in Learning-Based Sequential Decision Algorithms: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.04861/) (2020)
- [Dark Patterns at Scale: Findings from a Crawl of 11K Shopping Websites](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1907.07032/) (2019)
- [Precarity: Modeling the Long Term Effects of Compounded Decisions on Individual Instability](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.12037/) (2021)
- [Negotiating the Shared Agency between Humans & AI in the Recommender System](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.15919/) (2024)
- [Optimization's Neglected Normative Commitments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.17465/) (2023)
- [Fairness and Decision-making in Collaborative Shift Scheduling Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.09755/) (2020)
- [Optimal Consumption under a Habit-Formation Constraint: the Deterministic Case](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.02277/) (2020)
- [Counting Hours, Counting Losses: The Toll of Unpredictable Work Schedules on Financial Security](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.07719/) (2025)
- [Rethinking Optimization: A Systems-Based Approach to Social Externalities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.12825/) (2025)
- [Allocating Stimulus Checks in Times of Crisis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.07560/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Consumer agency in the digital age is increasingly constrained by systemic barriers and algorithmic manipulation, raising concerns about the authenticity of consumption choices. Nowadays, financial decisions are shaped by external pressures like obligatory consumption, algorithmic persuasion, and unstable work schedules that erode financial autonomy. Obligatory consumption (like hidden fees) is intensified by digital ecosystems. Algorithmic tactics like personalized recommendations lead to impulsive purchases. Unstable work schedules also undermine financial planning. Thus, it is important to study how these factors impact consumption agency. To do so, we examine formal models grounded in discounted consumption with constraints that bound agency. We construct analytical scenarios in which consumers face obligatory payments, algorithm-influenced impulsive expenses, or unpredictable income due to temporal instability. Using this framework, we demonstrate that even rational, utility-maximizing agents can experience early financial ruin when agency is limited across structural, behavioral, or temporal dimensions and how diminished autonomy impacts long-term financial well-being. Our central argument is that consumer agency must be treated as a value (not a given) requiring active cultivation, especially in digital ecosystems. The connection between our formal modeling and this argument allows us to indicate that limitations on agency (whether structural, behavioral, or temporal) can be rigorously linked to measurable risks like financial instability. This connection is also a basis for normative claims about consumption as a value, by anchoring them in a formally grounded analysis of consumer behavior. As solutions, we study systemic interventions and consumer education to support value deliberation and informed choices. We formally demonstrate how these measures strengthen agency.