Here’s a completely new kind of Big Brother: advertisements that watch you. For real. Advertisers are perfecting ways to embed small cameras directly into screens used for advertising (or at the very least around the screens). These cameras make an educated guess as to who is nearby watching the advertisement (male, female, young, old, white, hispanic, etc.) and then adjust the advertisement that is being displayed.
If these cameras can actually gather reliable demographic information, then it is easy to see why marketers are so interested. Of course, critics are “concerned” about the potential invasion of personal privacy. It’s like real-time profiling, and what could be wrong with that? [note satirical undertone].
Check out the full story from the AP via the NYT. (Thanks Robin!)
Adverts are the things should be scrutinized.