Tokyo Rail Billboards Scan Viewer's Age, Gender

eldavojohn writes "The AFP is reporting on digital billboards in Tokyo that scan for a viewer's age and gender to tailor the message to them. It's a Digital Signage Promotion Project that 11 railway companies are debuting. The head of the project said, 'The camera can distinguish a person's sex and approximate age, even if the person only walks by in front of the display, at least if he or she looks at the screen for a second.' Philip K. Dick's Minority Report draws closer every day."

Comments

Stop, Citizen!

[Pojut]

::pause::

OK, move along.

Re:Stop, Citizen!

[Kepesk]

Quick! Everyone put on Larry King masks so all the billboards turn into adult diaper ads!

Re:Stop, Citizen!

[interkin3tic]

Quick! Everyone put on Larry King masks so all the billboards turn into adult diaper ads!

No, everyone put on "interkin3tic" masks, so we can get all the billboards to turn into weird hentai ads!

Just, let's please come to a consensus, all one or the other, because if we half do Larry King and half do me, we're going to get wierd hentai ads featuring adult diapers. And there are some lines even I don't want to see crossed.

Re:Stop, Citizen!

[BobMcD]

Methinks he dost protest too much...

Re:Stop, Citizen!

[Hurricane78]

Would I be a dick for wearing a two-face mask with one half being a Pedobear mask and the other one being a Chris Hansen one*? :D

__
* I assume it’s the same “person” anyway. ^^

Re:Stop, Citizen!

[mrmeval]

I have a camera blinder. What I'd like is something, perhaps an IR laser than can produce any image in a camera. I suspect it may be possible to do that with a hologram. I've done something like it with a red laser.

A POV would be cumbersome though one in the back window with "DIE PIG DIE" would be entertaining.

Re:Stop, Citizen!

[victorhooi]

heya,

If you're trying to paraphrase Hamlet, the "methinks" actually goes at the end, lol.

The original quote is:

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

But it's often mis-quoted as:

Methinks the lady doth protest too much

e.g. http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/lady-doth-protest-too-much-methinks

Cheers,
Victor

hmmm

[Anonymous Coward]

waiting for it to call you a female and you are a male...

Re:hmmm

[Selfbain]

If you wanted to be really evil, you could program it to identify socially awkward teens and have it identify them as the opposite gender.

Re:hmmm

[Yvan256]

This is Japan we're talking about. Have the system identify all males as tentacle monsters.

Re:hmmm

[Idbar]

I happens that there may be many people in front of the billboard.

I'd assume that when the detector cannot discriminate, a general advertisement should come up.

I could come up with a basic list of what could be shown: Old man: viagra
Middle age man: sport cars
Young man: condoms
Old woman: Body lotion
Middle age woman: gym equipment or subscriptions
Young woman: tampons or female hygiene products
man (unable to discriminate age): cars
woman (unable to discriminate age): magazine subscriptions
young (unable to discriminate sex): video games/soda
middle aged (unable to discriminate sex): banking products
old (unable to discriminate sex): vacation spots
unable to discriminate age and sex: consumer electronics/cellphone plans


Now, group these categories and show something different every time.

Re:hmmm

[thepotoo]

OK, TFA has absolutely no details, but I think all it's doing is recording information about the demographic that looks at the billboard, thus allowing the billboard owner to say: "57% of the people looking at this billboard are male, 18-35 years old" and then pick an appropriate ad for the space.

The issue with this, of course, is that if you have a billboard showing some iteration of rule 34, a certain demographic is going to look, and you'll get the impression that only this demographic looks at ads, and then show more ads targeted to this demographic (lolcats) when in fact (hypothetically) there is a much larger entire demographic (say, 65+ women) walking by that doesn't stare because they don't care about lolcats. Maybe they just have a blank wall to get a sense of whose walking by before they show any ad? Or maybe this is just to get a sense of how many people are actually seeing the ad?

I don't know, this seems like a case of over-engineering, privacy issues aside ("operators have promised they will save no recorded images" yeah right).

Re:hmmm

[Anonymous Coward]

And when it sees an overweight American it should just scream "GOZIRRRAAA!"

Re:hmmm

[Rutefoot]

You have no idea how potentially evil these signs can be. The thing is, age is very tough to identify with certainty with this sort of software (gender is really easy). If you want to know someone's age you first have to know something else about them....Their race. Now it's possible that they're only designing these things to measure people of Japanese descent, but if they're not, I'm willing to bet you that they also check for race to calculate age. The technology exists. I know, I've seen it in action. It works about 95% of the time for gender and they're getting better (I'm part of the 5% that it thinks is the wrong gender...sigh). There would be obvious issues with checking for race so if it does its most likely only using it for calculating age and not being stored, but the ability is most certainly there.

Re:hmmm

[cmarkn]

But TFA says nothing about going so far as gathering information on who is actually looking at the billboard, only who is present. That's a pretty significant difference and they don't fall into your positive feedback loop. Also, even if you see that 57% of the audience are male, 18-35, you'd still want to reach out to the rest about 43% of the time.

Re:hmmm

[cmarkn]

D'oh. Never mind. It does say they have to look at the ad, at least for a second.

Re:hmmm

[mdwh2]

Note that it doesn't call you anything, but uses it to decide what ad to show you. And if a guy gets annoyed at being shown ads on how he should look pretty or make his eyelashes appear longer, he can understand how plenty of women must feel too (and indeed, how it is for anyone who doesn't fit neatly into an awkwardly defined social gender role).

Re:hmmm

[Anonymous Coward]

The law of maximum embarrassment says that the less confident it is that the target is a woman, the more likely it is to display a feminine hygiene product ad.

The real fun comes when someone claims to have a way of figuring out sexual preference. Yeah, your coworkers will laugh when you get the tampon ad... until they get the anal lube ad.

Re:hmmm

[Mr. Slippery]

(gender is really easy)

Far from it! Besides the fact that there are plenty of people out there of quite determinate biological sex whose appearance is ambiguous ("It's Pat!"), and besides the existence of a handful of people who are biologically intersexed, gender identification is one of the most complex things out there, as Randall Munroe of xkcd fame noted:

We recently programmed Bucket, the IRC chat bot in #xkcd, to allow people set their gender so he can use pronouns for them. This ended up taking hundreds of lines of code, three pages of documentation, and six different sets of pronouns and variables, just to cover all the basic ways people in the channel with different gender identifications wanted to be referred to (even without invented pronouns like "xe", which we vetoed). And that's just to cover the pronouns. The role of gender in society is the most complicated thing I've ever spent a lot of time learning about, and I've spent a lot of time learning about quantum mechanics.

It works about 95% of the time for gender and they're getting better

If I called one in twenty guys I see "ma'am", I'm pretty sure I would be punched in the face by the end of the day; an advertiser who deployed a system that mis-identified viewer's gender that often would face a horrible backlash. I think a 5% failure rate is about two orders of magnitude higher than would be socially acceptable, and contradicts the idea that "gender is really easy".

It's funny the cues that people think make it simple to determine gender. I do not have a feminine build -- broad shoulders, no hips. I've got a short beard, and masculine -- almost Neanderthal -- facial features. But I have very long hair, and so every once in a while someone will come up behind me and say "Excuse me ma'am..."

(The funniest one was where I was standing at a urinal and another guy walked in to the men's room and did a double take. "For a second I thought that was a woman standing there," he said.)

Re:hmmm

[Anonymous Coward]

Odd, I looked at the billboard, and all I got was a lousy BSOD......

This can't end well...

[sznupi]

Automatic recognition, on a wide scale / network, of young females, in Japan? Oh my...

Re:This can't end well...

[interkin3tic]

Automatic recognition, on a wide scale / network, of young females, in Japan?

Uh, no. It's not automatic recognition on an individual level beyond age and gender. It won't say "Hey! Yoshiko! You there! Buy some Pocari Sweat!" It might say "Hey! Big group of mostly 20 something guys heading to the business district! How about some Evangelion-themed pachinko after work!"

It's not going to be a wide scale network, at least I see nothing suggesting it's going to be networked. Which, getting back to the previous point, would be pointless anyway. "Hey! You might be one of the 10 million 15 year old males we saw in Osaka last week! Drink Coke Zero!"

The "looking at the billboard" is a clue. I think it's just going to try to measure which demographics are looking at which ads, so they can target them better. "This particular location near the line to Akihibara 'electric town' saw a whole lot of 20 to 30 year old males, so that's where the ad for the next Dragon Quest would be most effective. Meanwhile, the exit from the Keio line had mostly elderly people, so lets not pay as much for those locations."

Re:This can't end well...

[Yvan256]

They could also do timed advertising as well. Some supermarkets play different kinds of musics depending on the day of the week and the hour.

Re:This can't end well...

[Anonymous Coward]

That's some fine name dropping, Lou. Fine, fine name dropping. I can tell you're into seeming like you're into Japanese culture.

Re:This can't end well...

[interkin3tic]

I guess I could have made up some names if you think that would be less pretentious sounding. Geez, way to make a guy feel bad for providing concrete examples...

Additional Features

[Bicx]

- Escort ads for those who appear middle-aged and alone

- Diet Services for those who appear overweight

- Viagra ads for those who appear to have undersized genitals

Re:Additional Features

[couchslug]

- Selective b0m8 detonation

Re:Additional Features

[Suki I]

This was an idea we had when I helped with a futuristic book series. In the first book most of it got cut, he just went with a mention (I think) that ads along Crystal Drive (Arlington VA) would detect who was walking through their head-mounted computing/communication devices and display an ad, unless the user went to the effort to lock that feature out. Throughout the series there are voyeur cams saturating the industrial world and people run bots on the network and at home to spot people they find attractive in whatever location they like.

Re:Additional Features

[MillionthMonkey]

- Little mustaches on Hitler, Obama, and Lenin over the word "Socialist" for those who appear to be white

Re:Additional Features

[Anonymous Coward]

- Viagra ads for those who appear to have undersized genitals

In Japan? That would be everyone.

Re:Additional Features

[Anonymous Coward]

but what about the cosplay bois?

"YOU THERE! SAILOR VENUS! It appears as if you have a 5-o'-clock shadow! You need TRUNCHEON PANCAKE MAKEUP POWER!"

Re:Additional Features

[Anonymous Coward]

- Viagra ads for those who appear to have undersized genitals

I have just one word... FalconCougarThunderbird

Re:Additional Features

[WildBlueYonder]

- Viagra ads for those who appear to have undersized genitals

So you are saying they should put this technology in airport X-Ray machines?

Finally

[by (1706743)]

Something that can determine Pat's gender.

Re:Finally

[Anonymous Coward]

"Do the Martians have two sexes, like we do?" - Androgynous reporter from Mars Attacks!

Now that's just not right...

[tool462]

Code excerpt:

Person.setAge(getAgeEstimate());
Person.setSex(getGender());
if (Person.age 18 && Person.sex == "F")
      Person.setAge(18); // Giggity giggity

Re:Now that's just not right...

[tool462]

D'oh. HTML swallowed my <

Re:Now that's just not right...

[jfoobaz]

HTML swallowed my

Giggity.

Re:Now that's just not right...

[tom17]

Maybe I have missed something...

Get age, get sex
if age is 18 and sex is F then set age to 18... ? (It's already 18).

Or were you just going for the giggity?

Re:Now that's just not right...

[slack_prad]

He probably meant set age = giggity

Re:Now that's just not right...

[Thinboy00]

He meant to type &lt; which looks like < (see other replies).

OK, too far.

[BVis]

At what point do we turn to the marketing overlords and say "Fuck you, you don't have a right to know my age or gender, as much as you think you might". Advertising has gone too far already with being microtargeted, someone has to draw the line.

YOU DON'T HAVE AN INALIENABLE RIGHT TO MARKET TO ME. Make money by doing something useful, not leeching off those who do.

Re:OK, too far.

[phantomfive]

lol really? I don't understand your unexplained rage at being marketed to. Would it bother you if they instead paid a person to sit out there and write down the gender and approximate age of every person that walked past? Pretty much every person you see throughout the day has this information about you (and a lot more, for example, that you get upset a lot).

I mean, yeah, it's kind of annoying to get to a web page and there's advertising on it, but the ideal advertising is when you only tell people who are interested in a product about the product. That way you don't have to worry about people who aren't interested, or people who might become homicidal because of it, like you. This just goes one step closer to only giving people advertisement for things they might be interested in.

Really, don't kill anyone over this.

Re:OK, too far.

[maxume]

So because you don't care and have no imagination, no one else can try to create spaces that are somewhere in between the current definitions of public and private (one such space would be a space where mass-surveillance was not permitted)?

Ha-ha Jonesy, you stepped out of the shroud, you're fucked now.

Re:OK, too far.

[Anonymous Coward]

Laws and morals aren't adapting fast enough to keep pace with technology.

You're making the same kind of argument cops use to say they should be able to put trackers on cars without a warrant etc. There's a difference between something done occasionally by humans and something done universally with minimal cost.

Re:OK, too far.

[east coast]

At what point do we turn to the marketing overlords...

I don't know. At what point do you?

Every person is going to see this question differently. If you really have that much of a problem with who is marketing something to you just write to them and say "I love your product but your advertising method gives me the chills. I won't be buying from you again until you amend your ways." Then: STICK TO IT! Boycotts don't work unless companies lose profits because of it.

If enough people agree and follow your lead then you're in a good place. Otherwise you're SOL.

As far as their right? Sure they do. If you don't like it try the boycott, otherwise don't come out of your house for fear of being marketed to.

Re:OK, too far.

[commodore64_love]

>>>YOU DON'T HAVE AN INALIENABLE RIGHT TO MARKET TO ME

Yes actually I do. It's my mouth and if I want to stand on a street corner and market my "the world is ending" speech all day long, I can. If you don't like it, move to a different part of the public street or only frequent private areas (like malls) where I can not enter.

 

Re:OK, too far.

[phantomfive]

OK, I can accept that I may be wrong, that there may be some privacy issue that I'm not seeing. Not everything done with technology is a privacy problem, though. There is no personal information stored here. It's like the difference between putting a tracker on a car and a machine that counts cars going by. One is a privacy violation, and the other is laughable to get upset about.

I know it's good to worry about privacy issues, and slippery slopes and all that, but this isn't a slippery slope. We can draw a line between things that need a warrant (or permission) and things that don't. "Think of the privacy issues" is like the nerd equivalent of "think of the children," you can use it to manipulate geeks to oppose things, but I don't see this one as crossing the line.

In any case raging about it does nothing except make you look silly, and probably reduces your chances of actually doing something practical about it.

Re:OK, too far.

[Dishevel]

Not only that but I can identify your approximate age and your gender. Then I can approximate income level by your clothing and accessories and begin to tailor my "the world is ending" speech to have more effect on my audience.

Re:OK, too far.

[BVis]

Would it bother you if they instead paid a person to sit out there and write down the gender and approximate age of every person that walked past?

Yes, actually, it would. It's none of their business, leave me alone.

the ideal advertising is when you only tell people who are interested in a product about the product.

If I'm interested in a product, I don't need to be told about it. If I want to find it, I'll find it, I don't need it thrown in my face constantly like a monkey hitting a typewriter.

Re:OK, too far.

[nephilimsd]

The real problem will come when the automatic advertisements start selecting the GP for targetted gun adds.

Re:OK, too far.

[BVis]

Your analogy is flawed. If you ride the Tokyo rail system, essentially you are a captive audience for this kind of surveillance. And if some lunatic is ranting about the end of the world on the street in front of my place of business, I can't exactly avoid them either.

Re:OK, too far.

[Anonymous Coward]

I recommend that you refrain from purchasing a product that has been marketed to you in a way you find offensive. And, y'know, fucking switch to decaf or something.

Re:OK, too far.

[phantomfive]

Yes, actually, it would. It's none of their business, leave me alone.

You worry about the wrong things, babe. Go put your effort towards something more productive.

Re:OK, too far.

[InsertCleverUsername]

Advertising has gone too far already with being microtargeted, someone has to draw the line.

Try to look at the upside; do you really want to watch ads for feminine hygiene products?

Re:OK, too far.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, you can do that till I decide to shoot you in the face and kill you for being a faggot.

Re:OK, too far.

[N0Man74]

Is this any different than hiring a real person to try to drum up business for an establishment, who can (as a human being) recognize things like race, gender, and age and give different pitches to members of different demographics?

Why is it ok for a human to do it, but not a machine?

Now if it's programed to identify specific individuals and track or reference data on you in order to target you, then I could see you getting upset... then we're moving into Amazon and Google territory!

Re:OK, too far.

[GooberToo]

If I'm interested in a product, I don't need to be told about it. If I want to find it, I'll find it

My head just exploded.

In general terms, the point of most advertising is to either introduce an unknown or new product to the public or to inform the public of benefits of using said product. As such, if you don't know about a product, how would you know you don't need to be told about it? Which means, you know you don't know so you don't need to know, therefore not knowing means you know enough about it to not need to know. WTF?!

*Boom* There it went again.

Re:OK, too far.

[The Archon V2.0]

Not only that but I can identify your approximate age and your gender. Then I can approximate income level by your clothing and accessories and begin to tailor my "the world is ending" speech to have more effect on my audience.

And do it from 5000 different sites 24/7 and collect the data to determine if certain groups congregate at certain locations at specific points in the day! And try similar messages at nearby locations to see which has the most positive response and then sell that information to maximize profit!

Oh, wait, you can't do that.

Re:OK, too far.

[Gulthek]

Never?

Oh no! A company is trying to let me know about a product it sells!

Oh no! A company is trying to target it's advertising so that I'm not bored with useless ads!

The horror?

Re:OK, too far.

[BVis]

In general terms, the point of most advertising is to either introduce an unknown or new product to the public or to inform the public of benefits of using said product.

When I find myself in need of a product or service, I am perfectly capable of seeking out said product or service. If you need to tell me about it to convince me that I need it.. I don't need it.

As such, if you don't know about a product, how would you know you don't need to be told about it?

I don't need to be told about it if I don't need it. 99% of the time I'm marketed to, it's a product that I have no interest in. I'm not about to give up some (even tiny) measure of privacy to improve that ratio.

Which means, you know you don't know so you don't need to know, therefore not knowing means you know enough about it to not need to know

I know enough to know that if I need something, I can find it, I don't need to be whacked in the face with it 900 times when I don't need it.

Re:OK, too far.

[node_chomsky]

I entirely understand your point, but I question the legitimacy of the billboard's presence to begin with, more so than the technology embedded in it. Advertising is an influence on your decisions being controlled by someone or something that has no understanding of you beyond your most impulsive, universal, and base qualities, I simply cannot see any reason a person could possibly want that. I would love to get on a tirade about the myth of consumerism, but I really should be getting back to work on my MacBook Air instead of being a total hypocrite.

Re:OK, too far.

[BVis]

Try to look at the upside; do you really want to watch ads for feminine hygiene products?

I don't want to see ANY ads. Period. I don't want to be marketed to. At all. Nobody has a RIGHT to market to me if I don't want it.

Re:OK, too far.

[GooberToo]

When I find myself in need of a product or service

That's the point. Many times, without advertising, you wouldn't know of a product of service and therefore wouldn't know you could seek said product or service.

*BLAM* There, it happened again!

Re:OK, too far.

[BVis]

Why is it ok for a human to do it, but not a machine?

It isn't ok. If your product or service isn't good enough to attract customers on its own, then You're Doing It Wrong. Good products sell themselves, they don't need shithead MBAs who can't tie their own shoes to tell the great unwashed what they want.

Re:OK, too far.

[phantomfive]

Most people spend their lives trying fulfill their most impulsive, universal, and base qualities. If we could find a way to help them overcome that, it would be much more effective and amazing and useful than merely stopping advertising (which probably wouldn't do much).

Re:OK, too far.

[BVis]

Many times, without advertising, you wouldn't know of a product of service and therefore wouldn't know you could seek said product or service.

I'm perfectly capable of typing, for example, "Blue Jeans" into a search engine and reading the result.

Re:OK, too far.

[Anonymous Coward]

Ummm...yeah, it IS a matter of privacy...try to guess my age or gender without me telling you? :-)

ANYTHING about me is private. It is my CHOICE to reveal whatever I might want to reveal.

Don't believe me? Alright, start asking every female you meet: "How old are you?" ROTFL
Good luck with that...:-)

Re:OK, too far.

[BVis]

Oh no! A company is trying to target it's advertising so that I'm not bored with useless ads!

They don't have the right to exploit my privacy to do so. THAT is what I have trouble with here. All I want is to be able to walk down the street (ride the train, etc) without someone trying to sell me something. What the hell has happened to the world where that's not possible anymore?

Re:OK, too far.

[waitwonder]

They may not have name or other personal information but they can store person's face, clothes, accessories and people they hang out with (faces again). They can use face recognition to identify the person and their traveling habits, places they shop etc. etc. By associating different pieces of information a personal sketch can be created for each unique face. As much as I would like all these technologies to come into play, I do see things may go on a slippery slope if this data is shared with parties who have persons image and identity information.

Re:OK, too far.

[treeves]

The purpose of advertising isn't to inform you of the existence of new products so much as it is to convince you that you *need* the products - you already know they exist - that they will solve some problem you have (or are expected to have) or most often, that they will make you happy, feel better, etc. And to get the name or brand topmost in your mind, so that when you do go buy a new _____, you will choose *that* name, that brand.

Re:OK, too far.

[Anonymous Coward]

If you don't want the camera to know your sex then don't just pull out your genitals in front of the camera. Problem solved.

How is this any different than advertising in magazines related to their industry? Cigar makers advertising in Cigar Aficionado??!! NO! DON'T MARKET TO ME!!

Re:OK, too far.

[BassMan449]

So I take it you never leave your house? There is nothing private about your age or gender unless you stay permanently indoors. Walk outside your house and now your neighbors know your gender and age (at least approximately which is all this machine would do anyway). You make a big deal out them knowing your gender and age, but any human being you walk past would know that immediately. Why does the fact that it's being done with technology make you uncomfortable, but for another human to know that is perfectly ok?

Re:OK, too far.

[vlueboy]

IT only needs the hardware to be ubiquitous for plans to change. It's a fine line between scanning my face with this prototype, and actually storing the data, ID'ing me and reporting to the government my GPS location.

Won't somebody please think of the ...UK? A special team can then be dispatched for marked individuals, good or bad.

Re:OK, too far.

[BassMan449]

But how do you know that you wanted "Blue Jeans". You know that because at some point, somewhere, someone marketed them to you. Maybe it was your mom when she bought you some or maybe you just saw a pair at a store and bought them, but you only still know about them because they were advertised to you somehow. Just because the advertising is word of mouth and not a big billboard doesn't mean it isn't still advertising. Of all the things in your life that you need, the only reason you "need" it is because some form of advertising showed you the benefits of it and made you use it.

Re:OK, too far.

[GooberToo]

Somehow this simply subject seems to go completely over your head.

How about, "black jeans". If you never knew they existed and no one ever told you they existed, its likely it would never occur to you to even search for, "black jeans". Obviously jeans in an all around bad example, but the point is, you insist you know you don't know and therefore since you don't know you know. The fact remains, its impossible to know everything you don't know; especially when you don't know what you don't know.

We all agree advertising can very much suck. But reality is, unless you live in the woods and off the land, advertising also serves an important social function. Well, at least to any consumer/commercial society.

*BANG*

Re:OK, too far.

[gstoddart]

You make a big deal out them knowing your gender and age, but any human being you walk past would know that immediately. Why does the fact that it's being done with technology make you uncomfortable, but for another human to know that is perfectly ok?

Easy, because a human can't automatically upload an image of your face to a database, correlate your movements with all of your credit card purchases, make inferences about your long-term buying patterns, and then sell that information to someone else who has no business with it in the first place.

The technology allows for far greater scale of privacy invasion, and provided an opportunity for data about you to persist in ways you couldn't even conceive of.

Think of it as Big Brother, but operated by commercial interests.

Re:OK, too far.

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't understand your unexplained rage at being marketed to. Would it bother you if they instead paid a person to sit out there and write down the gender and approximate age of every person that walked past?

You seem to forget that machines work 24/7, have low cost and we can assume they are too fast to miss multiple persons. Their efficiency is unexpected.

Pretty much every person you see throughout the day has this information about you (and a lot more, for example, that you get upset a lot).

Nope. You are assuming that everyone is already big brother and that a human I see on the street has a camera recording my every move. Does this builboard article mean nothing to us because "EVERY PERSON I SEE THROUGHOUT THE DAY" somehow gets data on me that the billboard cannot? The opposite is the reality. That explains the /. outcry over it.

Re:OK, too far.

[GooberToo]

The purpose of advertising isn't to inform you of the existence

You entirely missed a very important series of words, "...in general terms...". Good advertising does both. Classic examples are all those medication commercials where they not only tell you of medication you very likely didn't know existed, they tell you its medication for problems you likely didn't even know was a problem. Then they convince you, of all possible treatments for your problem, their medication is the one you want - so go tell your doctor.

Re:OK, too far.

[Actually, I do RTFA]

If I'm interested in a product, I don't need to be told about it.

Duh.

If I want to find it, I'll find it,

Assuming you are somewhat competent, sure.

But what about a product you would be interested in, should you know about it? Something that you would seek out, if you knew it existed? How do you find out about it? Word of mouth? But then you're just moving the burden of being advertised to onto your friends.

I've seen people, for instance, advertising their hobby groups. It never would have occurred to me to try out some of those things without them saying they did it.

Re:OK, too far.

[BobMcD]

Many times, without advertising, you wouldn't know of a product of service and therefore wouldn't know you could seek said product or service.

I'm perfectly capable of typing, for example, "Blue Jeans" into a search engine and reading the result.

That's a rather excellent example.

Why 'Blue'? Denim isn't naturally that color, is it?

Why 'Jeans'? Do you typically purchase products from Gênes (France)?

The entire reason you're aware that 'blue jeans' are something you'd want is due to the marketing efforts folks like Levi Strauss and Co.

Now if you had said 'dungarees' or 'denim trousers', maybe I would have believed you. But this product has already been marketed, and thus is a bad example for your no-marketing world.

Re:OK, too far.

[BobMcD]

Nobody has a RIGHT to (speak) to me if I don't want it.

I disagree. Vehemently.

Re:OK, too far.

[BobMcD]

Why is it ok for a human to do it, but not a machine?

It isn't ok. If your product or service isn't good enough to attract customers on its own, then You're Doing It Wrong. Good products sell themselves, they don't need shithead MBAs who can't tie their own shoes to tell the great unwashed what they want.

Or, perhaps...

If your (idea) isn't good enough to attract (followers) on its own, then You're Doing It Wrong.

Communication is an understated thing in your world, it seems. Imagine the difficulty in spreading your anti-marketing idea if you were forbidden to discuss it with anyone. Further imagine opening a new business in a strip mall down town and being forbidden to advertise on the radio, pass out flyers, or even hang a sign out front. How long are you in business?

Re:OK, too far.

[BobMcD]

All I want is to be able to walk down the street (in private)

Um, no.

Re:OK, too far.

[Blakey Rat]

At what point do we turn to the marketing overlords and say "Fuck you, you don't have a right to know my age or gender, as much as you think you might".

A train station is a public location, *everybody* there has a right to look at you and guess your age and gender.

If you don't like that, you can start wearing a burqa everywhere you go. But guess what? It's a right in our (and Japan's) society, and one that is not going to be taken away no matter how paranoid you happen to be.

Advertising has gone too far already with being microtargeted, someone has to draw the line.

You consider age&gender as "Microtargeted?" Christ, man. I hate to break this to you, but there are a lot of websites that target based on a list of websites your browser has visited in the past. What do you call that, "super-nano-ultra-targeting?" You've set the bar way too high here.

YOU DON'T HAVE AN INALIENABLE RIGHT TO MARKET TO ME.

Sure I do, in the US. It's called the First Amendment. I don't have any right to compel you to listen, though.

Make money by doing something useful, not leeching off those who do.

A lot of those "something useful" could not exist if marketing didn't guide customers with a need to the product that fulfills it.

I'm not excusing all advertising, a large proportion of it is disagreeable. (Mainly brand advertising, which isn't designed to get the consumer to buy a specific product based on its merits, but simply uses the phenomen of "the more people see X, the more they like X" to get consumers to gravitate towards their brand. This is basically *all* soft drink advertising, and the majority of car advertising.)

But to say marketing should not exist is ridiculous on the face of it. The inventors you worship so much would be in scrubbing toilets for food money without marketers.

Re:OK, too far.

[vlueboy]

IT only needs the hardware to be ubiquitous for plans to change.

Case in point: Without USB being on every modern PC several years, stores would not sell you USB webcameras, USB dolls, USB lights and USB beer coolers. For kicks, nobody would have dared market a serial-port version of this

Few of those applications of the hardware were planned at the 1996 release of the USB standard.

Re:OK, too far.

[EdIII]

You're not alone. They just don't get it. I think I could explain it a little bit better, but I completely understand your frustration and your rage is not unjustified, or unexplained.

I may not be willing to kill, but I am perfectly willing to destroy the infrastructure doing this. Perfectly Willing To Do So.

Advertising is an unacceptable offense against our intellect and common decency. There is nothing honest, sincere, or productive about it and as a species we will be better off without it.

Taking it to this level just means that we have no peace, no privacy, and zero hope of peaceful enjoyment of our lives. Those replying to you just don't get it, and mostly because they can't think themselves out of a wet paper bag when it comes to full measure of what this means to our lives.

Same people that say you have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide. It must be wonderful to be that ignorant and naive.

Re:OK, too far.

[Arcaeris]

In general terms, the point of most advertising is to either introduce an unknown or new product to the public or to inform the public of benefits of using said product.

Maybe if it was 1880. The idea that "giving consumers information about a product makes them buy more of it" is easily the least effective and most simplistic type of marketing. This is sometimes combined with more advanced forms, but is often left out.

Modern marketing theory has its roots in the 1920s and Edward Bernays. At its core it is about associating a product with a person's desires at a subconscious level. It has long since gone much deeper and more manipulatively past this. Look up "Century of the Self" if you want a good account of what really went into forming modern marketing strategy.

Look at recent Corona ads or Dos Equis ads for examples of where this has gone these days. The ads have almost nothing to do with the beer they are trying to sell, and no information at all about the product. Yet it is still very effective advertising.

Re:OK, too far.

[StuartHankins]

Oh, please tell me you're not that guy...

Re:OK, too far.

[c6gunner]

Yes, actually, it would. It's none of their business, leave me alone.

*Cue advertisement for wilderness retreat / survivalist cult*

Re:OK, too far.

[Hatta]

As such, if you don't know about a product, how would you know you don't need to be told about it?

I can't possibly need something I don't know exists. If you tell me that a product exists, you have created a need where there was none before. This is harmful.

Re:OK, too far.

[Jason Earl]

I grew up in a small town. Pretty much everywhere I went I was recognized in much the same way that frightens you. When I went to the convenience store where I would buy my candy the owner invariably asked if I wanted "the regular." Most people don't seem to mind this sort of behavior. In fact, it is often called "good service."

On the flip side, when I was doing something I shouldn't people invariably threatened to call my father. This might seem disconcerting to someone who has relied on anonymity to keep themselves out of trouble their whole life, but there are some advantages.

Re:OK, too far.

[Hatta]

the ideal advertising is when you only tell people who are interested in a product about the product.

Ideal for a marketer. Not ideal for the interested customer. An interested customer is best served by objective information on multiple options, not advertising.

I would rather be surrounded by ads for adult diapers and tampons than anything I'd want to buy. That would leave me free from manipulation by the psychological tricks that marketers employ.

Re:OK, too far.

[N0Man74]

Oh, Good products sell themselves! Someone get the word out that the advertising business is a needless sham!

I'm not sure where you got MBAs from my comment either. I was talking about an actual person drumming up business, such as outside of an establishment, street vendors, and the most simple, low-tech and traditional type of advertisement known. A guy standing outside a building, or beside a booth or cart, calling out to people to try to try to entice them into buying. Or maybe a flower lady, trying to get a guy to buy flowers for the girl he is with.

Such people will regularly adjust their pitches in order to get customers, and they most certainly will employ their eyes and common sense.

I haven't seen many MBA's doing these types of jobs.

So my question (still) is why is acceptable for just some guy to take into account such things, but it's not ok for a fancy computer to do so? And again, I wouldn't want them to identify individuals, track them, etc, but is it really such an awful thing to target someone using extremely general traits that could easily be observable by any human?

Re:OK, too far.

[Hatta]

The problem is that advertising exists to create and exploit those impulsive qualities. You can't sell anything to a contented man. Eliminating advertising would be a big step towards increased happiness for everyone.

Re:OK, too far.

[cayenne8]

Ok, then why do they keep incessantly advertising product that everyone knows about?

Coca Cola? McDonald's?

It isn't like these aren't already known world wide. Sure, I guess new generations come out...but surely you don't need to advertise them THAT often, that is, if the main reason like you argue, is to inform people of products they might not know about?

Re:OK, too far.

[Anonymous Coward]

Well said.

Please run for office.

Re:OK, too far.

[Jason Earl]

Insert Ad for an Automobile.

Re:OK, too far.

[phantomfive]

I agree! No one should ever have released the USB standard because of the potential future privacy risks. It's outrageous!!!!

Re:OK, too far.

[Haffner]

Wrong. It is possible to hurt yourself driving your car. The new GM forcefield prevents that from happening, under any situation. You didn't know it existed, but now that you do, I'm gonna bet you need it. This is not harmful.

Re:OK, too far.

[treeves]

Well, you carefully chose which words to leave out when quoting me too, namely "so much as it is to...". I obviously realize it does both, just much more predominantly one than the other. Arcaeris says more about this aspect here.

Re:OK, too far.

[Anonymous Coward]

lol that's hilarious. +5 funny

Re:OK, too far.

[Hatta]

I'd hear about that one from the news. And if I saw it in an ad, I wouldn't believe it anyway.

Re:OK, too far.

[auLucifer]

Not at first but once he starts to franchise his world is ending speech he will be able to. Hell if the speech is so good perhaps a joint venture with one of the big fast food chains will be able to supply the extra workers to help promote it! "End of the world happy meal! Limited time only! *expires when the world ends"
Or better yet. Chances are one of the franchisees could be christs second coming and once he says the world is ending you'll have the attention of most of the world. He'll have people coming right upto him, giving him all of their details like age, gender, health concerns, bank details and all the details of their family members and he'll not have to employ a heartless billboard or trawl any social networks.

Re:OK, too far.

[hedwards]

Inalienable, I do not think it means what you think it means. If it were really an inalienable right, the GP wouldn't be allowed to go away and ignore it. As it stands now, no there is no inalienable right to market at him or me.

Re:OK, too far.

[bit01]

Good advertising does both.

99.9% of real life unsolicited advertising, not the fiction you're spouting, doesn't. It's just spam to get mindshare. In other words repetition to crowd out alternatives.

Very little real life unsolicited advertising informs, it's all just emotional manipulation and has little redeeming value to anybody except the spammer, sorry "advertiser".

---

Marketing in a saturated market is a zero-sum game. When one player wins another must lose. In a saturated market; marketing = un-marketing = arms race = parasites.

Re:OK, too far.

[tknd]

I've been to Tokyo. They already have people standing on the streets handing out fliers or shouting at you to buy stuff. In fact the second you walk into a Yodobashi or Bic Camera they have a woman on a microphone droning on and on about products. In Akihabara they have girls dressed up in costumes handing out fliers for their maid cafes. The metro is filled with ads along the ceiling, hanging, stuck to the wall, even on certain stops the wall outside of the train has an ad. I even saw someone swing into a train, swap out one of the ads with a new one, and step out.

This is nothing new. The only difference is a computer doesn't get tired talking all day and the data can be analyzed later. With a person you have to train them, keep them somewhat happy, and hope they give you enough data you can work with. Even after all the automation they'll still probably have the maid girls standing outside passing fliers and women on mics in the camera stores.

It isn't like America is much better. The 5+4 zip code is actually used by marketers to target more specific areas. The extra four digits in the zip code bring down the general location A LOT. The "club cards" for supermarkets are a marketing tool for tracking purposes. I wouldn't be surprised if the coupons printed at the register are a direct result from your buying history. Even webpages are tracking all of your clicks and travels through their site.

The purpose of all this data mining isn't necessarily bad. Yes they know a lot about you, but that's the whole point. The more they know about you, the better they can decide whether or not an ad will be effective when shown to you. For example there's not much of a point in showing Viagra ads at women or young men. Same thing for showing a Justin Bieber ad to say an old man. It is the same reason why the maid cafe girls primarily hand out their fliers to every young man walking along the street in Akihabara.

Re:OK, too far.

[bit01]

This is not harmful.

The "information" is from a highly biased source attempting to emotionally manipulate, not inform. Like 99.9% of all unsolicited advertising. It's more likely to be harmful than not.

---

Marketing in a saturated market is a zero-sum game. When one player wins another must lose. In a saturated market; marketing = un-marketing = arms race = parasites.

Re:OK, too far.

[DrCode]

True, and, of course, Google has been trying to do this for quite a while. When I got an email from someone with an Asian name, I got ads for martial arts schools. And when I did a search for 'broadway theater tickets', I got ads for gays.

Re:OK, too far.

[misexistentialist]

Advertisers and marketers live off of data, so of course it will be stored for analysis of sub-demographics or effectiveness. Stored video would be useful for human review so you could see if people are swearing or laughing at your ads--or vandalizing your equipment. (And of course government routinely seeks access to private surveillance video) Even if by some miracle the data isn't stored, the feeling of being monitored has well-known psychological effects. What was that experiment...put a picture of an eye on the wall and people are much more likely to pay for donuts left unattended? A camera, even if it has no storage, is more powerful than a picture of an eye.

Re:OK, too far.

[Anonymous Coward]

Because people are fickle, and because all the competitors are clamoring for your attention. Ads like that remind you about Coke or McDonalds. Maybe you happen to be thirsty, and hearing the Coke ad will prompt you to get a Coke instead of a Dr. Pepper. Maybe the McDonalds ad reminds you that you haven't had McNuggets since February and you'd like to have some again, so you go there for a quick lunch instead of Taco Bell. Or maybe neither ad does anything for you. Advertising is like that.

- T

Re:OK, too far.

[franki.macha]

Your sig says "Has started using digg for tech news and so far, it's about the same quality as slashdot news".

Is this a warning or a recommendation?

Re:OK, too far.

[phantomfive]

Says the man with 'censorship is obscene' in his sig.

Re:OK, too far.

[auLucifer]

It was more of a warning. Think of kdawsons or timothys articles always filtering to the top and you have digg.

Re:OK, too far.

[GooberToo]

Hard not to roll eyes...

That's because how many new product concepts are introduced on a daily basis. Ignoring your deter, my origin comment, to which you needlessly took issue, was entirely spot on to begin with.

Re:OK, too far.

[F'Nok]

There are also USB key loggers, USB storage device viruses, etc.

There are privacy implications from USB, that arose simply because USB became ubiqutious.

It would be silly to reject USB for these reasons though, because such technologies should be evaluated based on actual risk of abuse, and how ubiquitous such abuse could become.

With USB, such abuse is minor, generally directly targetted, and identifiable.

With a billboard using photos, the abuse could be very easily ubiquitous, and transparent.
There's a huge difference in circumstance, but the USB case does show very clearly that functional usage creep is real, and does happen, so you should think about that function creep before you accept new technology that could become ubiquitous.

Re:OK, too far.

[Anonymous Coward]

You don't have the right to violate my own freedom in order to exercise your own. If you want to stand in your corner and proclaim whatever you wish, then that's fine, as long as you don't do anything too outrageous. However, you do NOT have the right to stalk me, record details about my behaviour, and sell them to someone else without my consent.

Re:OK, too far.

[Anonymous Coward]

Moron. The point of marketing is to spend the marketing budget. Bigger budget equals more power and influence. That is All

Perhaps you also believe the mmwave scanners in use at airports are there to protect travellers. They are not. They are they to spend the TSA budget.

Re:OK, too far.

[Anonymous Coward]

This isn't strictly correct - you can't follow someone around all day and harrass them, and even if you are stationary another person can take out a restraining order against you -granted, that's a lot of work but if granted that order would bar you from interacting with them at all.

With these ads however, I feel as if we've all taken another step toward that futurama episode where ads are implanted into your dreams. Where does it stop?

Re:OK, too far.

[Anonymous Coward]

In summary - before advertising, humans did not know that anything existed, and had no needs. Amazing!

Re:OK, too far.

[GooberToo]

No. Actually my comment is spot on. Read the entire thread. The difference is, new product categories just don't appear like they used to. Just the same, advertising as I depict is very much alive and well. Just look at medical and medication commercials; not to mention the now common infomercial.

Additionally, my wording is very clearly vague and in most generalized terms. I'm not teaching marketing 101 here. As such, its hardly a definitive definition of marketing. The fact that my wording makes it very clear there is both other forms of marketing and specialized forms of marketing, leaves one scratching their head as to why you even replied.

The type of marketing you are referring to are for products which are ubiquitous; whereby the intent is not to educate but to establish branding, maintain branding, or to simply remind the public their product is still around. As an example, most soda commercials fall into this category.

Re:OK, too far.

[Hatta]

You don't hear me calling for censorship of marketing. Marketing is evil. Censorship is more evil. Entirely consistent positions.

Re:OK, too far.

[phantomfive]

True, true. It only sounded like that's what you wanted, you never said that it was what you actually did want.

Re:OK, too far.

[russotto]

I mean, yeah, it's kind of annoying to get to a web page and there's advertising on it, but the ideal advertising is when you only tell people who are interested in a product about the product.

No, advertising goes beyond that into trying to generate interest in the uninterested.

Re:OK, too far.

[phantomfive]

What, exactly, is your point? Are you trying to do a geeky hair-splitting definition thing?

Re:OK, too far.

[commodore64_love]

>>>If it were really an inalienable right, the GP wouldn't be allowed to go away and ignore it.

Uh... you clearly don't know the meaning of the word. Inalienable basically means "indivisible" or "inseparable" such that you can not separate me from my mouth. i.e. You can not stop me from exercising the vocal cords nature has given me.* OF COURSE the grandparent poster has the right to go-away from my mouth so he can no longer hear it.

*
* Unless I'm standing on your private property.
* Then I'd be trespassing.

Re:OK, too far.

[Anonymous Coward]

"a human can't automatically upload an image of your face to a database"

A cybernetic optical implant could fix that for ya, real quick.

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2008/03/optical_implant_in_the_future.html

All it needs is a wifi connection, and a bit more product development.

I have been to Japan...

[Anonymous Coward]

...I doubt they get much accuracy in age, and probably a large number of "indeterminate" or false positives on gender...

Re:I have been to Japan...

[AnonymousClown]

...I doubt they get much accuracy in age, and probably a large number of "indeterminate" or false positives on gender...

If some electronic add calls me a chick, I'm punching its lights out!

Re:I have been to Japan...

[nacturation]

If some electronic add calls me a chick...

you'll do an electronic subtract?

Re:I have been to Japan...

[Anonymous Coward]

false positives on gender...

Wait, there are people in Japan without gender?

Re:I have been to Japan...

[quickpick]

...I doubt they get much accuracy in age, and probably a large number of "indeterminate" or false positives on gender...

If some electronic add calls me a chick, I'm punching its lights out!

Its only your fault if your man boobs qualify you for a victoria secret uber-bra Ad. Remember it lifts, supports and separates!

Re:I have been to Japan...

[joe_frisch]

Its a good point - mis-identifying a customer is so insulting that I would be surprised if it is a net win for marketers.

Negative feelings about brands can to tremendous long term damage. There are a number of companies that I won't buy from if there is any alternative, simply because they have pissed me off in the past.

Wasn't in PKD's Minority Report

[Anonymous Coward]

The commercial eye-scanners were all Spielberg.

Re:Wasn't in PKD's Minority Report

[commodore64_love]

And also "Minority Report" was about catching people in acts of pre-crime, before they killed someone. I don't see any indication that these cameras can predict future murders.

Re:Wasn't in PKD's Minority Report

[minogully]

It's not about what Minority Report was about, it's a reference to certain aspects of the futuristic world that was created. So it doesn't matter that the main technology featured in Minority Report was about catching people in acts of pre-crime. It's like if we started to see flying cars everywhere, we could say that we're be closer to "Back to the Future 2", even though time travel wasn't invented (yet?...).

Re:Wasn't in PKD's Minority Report

[kg8484]

I don't see any indication that these cameras can predict future murders.

But if they could, they would be more likely to offer ads for weapons, ropes, shovels and lotion rather than report you to authorities.

Re:Wasn't in PKD's Minority Report

[CheeseTroll]

They're referring to the the movie version, which showed the characters constantly walking past 'billboards' that recognized the passersby via retinal scans and pitched customized ads to them by name. They were intentionally annoying, and were used as a plot device to show how difficult it was for the main character to remain anonymous in public places, once he was wanted by the police.

Re:Wasn't in PKD's Minority Report

[Anonymous Coward]

It wasn't the cameras that reported the pre-crime. It was a triumvirate of psychics floating in a pool. The "Minority Report" in this case was two of the three accused John Anderton (Tom Cruise) of a future murder. The Minority Report was the vision of the dissenting physic.

In Soviet North Korea

[smitty777]

...I just can't do it...

Re:In Soviet North Korea

[Anonymous Coward]

Neither could your geography teacher.

Re:In Soviet North Korea

[Anonymous Coward]

Need to brush up on our internet memes a little, do we?

Movie version vs. original story

[Robotron23]

Remember those sequences in Spielberg's take on 'Minority Report' in which advertisements would actually call out names of passers-by or customers entering shops - how that would work with groups of people (or whether it would just default to a generic pitch) I do not know. The technology around this sort of thing looks pretty attainable by 2052 which was the year that movie was set. Same as a few other things in the film. Infact it seemed quite a prudent take on the future except for all the precognition stuff which veered a bit far into the paranormal/ESP realm for my liking.

Can't really say that the existence of this tech necessarily makes it use exclusively predilected towards authoritarian regime and control...I mean we could say the same of multitudes of inventions that could be adapted just as these advertisements could. For instance closer analysis on demographics deemed likelier to be 'subversive' etc; but given the point I just made there's no need to single this particular invention out with couple of 1984 quotes. Remember that the big surveillance tool in 1984 was an adapted television screen (telescreen) - you don't get much by way of that criticism when Toshiba or Samsung announces a massive new screen; no mentions of Fahrenheit 451 either which would be more astute in any case.

I haven't read PKD's short story for a long, long time...maybe 8 or 9 years but I remember when I mentally compared the film to it after seeing it in a theatre that it wasn't all that similar to the blockbuster which had massive exposure. More like bits and pieces were there, with the screenwriters building a different shell and appending entirely new characters to progress the movie. So I was wondering if somebody would clarify if this technology was actually in the short story as opposed to merely the film?

Re:Movie version vs. original story

[nacturation]

Remember those sequences in Spielberg's take on 'Minority Report' in which advertisements would actually call out names of passers-by or customers entering shops - how that would work with groups of people (or whether it would just default to a generic pitch) I do not know.

Person with the highest probability to buy the product being advertised. Factor in disposable income, interests, gullability factor, and so on to come up with a number from 0 to 1 for each person. Choose the highest. Of course, playing on group dynamics would also be neat if you can determine that some the members of the group know each other.

Re:Movie version vs. original story

[Anonymous Coward]

Nope. Neither does PKD's story involve any touch screens. In fact, I kept wondering what's the relation with Minority Report at all. I guess, timothy never read the short story and bluntly assumed the movie is a straight-forward adaption. I assume, referencing a novel or short story looks more intellectual than a movie. Don't do it if you haven't read it! Anyone who's read the more popular "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and watched the movie "Blade Runner" knows that despite having a lot in common, are quite different. Same goes for Body Snatchers and Total Recall. After all, PKD wrote "Minority Report" more than 40 years before it was adapted into a movie. Inclusion of touch screens, personalized advertising and similar technology that's just around the corner or already available on the market, makes them actually look less futuristic. While PKD reached 50 and more years into the future, the movies are only 10 to 20 years ahead, if you ignore that a couple of futuristic perspectives have become obsolete since PKD wrote about them (cold war has ended, space travel stagnates since the Apollo program). Maybe he just observed a different universe. Perhaps he invalided his precognitions by publishing them.

"Hello Mr. Yukkamoto

[dazedNconfuzed]

...and welcome back to the GAP!"

I keep wondering why Minority Report type advertising (esp. in-store) isn't here yet despite advancements in face recognition. Plant an innocuous camera at the checkout, and cross-link data from the credit card (your name is on there). Next time you walk in, an animation on a prominently positioned HDTV or projection display greets you by name, and a clerk can sidle up offering help & suggestions based on your buying history.

Re:"Hello Mr. Yukkamoto

[natehoy]

And in a really big hurry, they'd learn that, in order to sell to me, they need to have their computers not acknowledge my presence in any way.

Of course, that would just mean that my preferences would be updated to "use more subtle advertising on this dumb fuck so he's fooled into thinking we left him alone" and trigger my sense of superiority over the brainwashed hoi polloi which, of course, means I'd be more susceptible to the subtle advertising and buy more shit from them.

Re:"Hello Mr. Yukkamoto

[Conspiracy_Of_Doves]

Because it would creep too many people out and drive them away from the store.

Re:"Hello Mr. Yukkamoto

[kent_eh]

...and welcome back to the GAP!"

I keep wondering why Minority Report type advertising (esp. in-store) isn't here yet

Maybe because customers would generally be freaked out, and not come back?

Re:"Hello Mr. Yukkamoto

[hedwards]

People go to the Gap? That's news to me.

I have Progeria you insensitive clod!

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm 16 but I look 60!

Philip K. Dick

[Dracos]

...Just gasped in his grave.

You look like a girl

[Saishuuheiki]

And this computer agrees with me, so you scientifically look like a girl

Re:You look like a girl

[Anonymous Coward]

Really? Why, thank you! =)

(And they say, 'flattery* gets you nowhere!')

* pun intended

How is this like Minority Report?

[Anonymous Coward]

Isn't that the one about the three muses who can see the future and predict crimes before they happen? And there are three so that if one is wrong the other two can overrule it? And the cop who gets notification to arrest himself because he's going to murder someone and runs away? And then it turns out that they disagree because they make their prediction serially, so the future changes between each prediction based on the knowledge of the future provided by the previous prediction, so essentially it's a time travel paradox story? And he ends up killing someone else in self defense for trying to arrest him even though he's innocent? I'm no Philip K. Dick fan, so maybe I'm wrong, but how is this like Minority Report at all?

Re:How is this like Minority Report?

[damien_kane]

In Minority Report, there was a particular scene where Tom was on the run, ran into a mall, and was identified by a global retinal scan that hits everyone entering the store.
Once identified, the man on the billboard in front of him greeted him personally, asked him if he liked [whatever he last bought], and advised that they have new fashions in a similar style in stock that he might be interested in.
It then went on to greet the next person.

Tailored ads are a good thing

[Anonymous Coward]

Seriously, if you have the starting point that you ARE going to be provided with ads in some form, AND you can get around the privacy concerns, then tailored ads are great.

Do I want to listen to ads for cleaning sprays? No. Could I potentially watch trailers for upcoming computer games? Yes.

If anything, the world of internet ads would be better if the major banner ad networks had a place you could pick the types of adverts to see, provided that you were going to see one.

Re:Tailored ads are a good thing

[Hatta]

Wrong. Ads for things I don't want are easily ignored. Ads for things I do want have the potential to manipulate me in to making a sub-optimal purchase.

Scanning for hot chicks

[Anonymous Coward]

Scan criteria.

1)Appears 13 but actual age 18+

2)Overly large eyes.

3)Short skirt

4)Pigtails

5)Holding stuffed animal preferably a teddy bear.

Re:Scanning for hot chicks

[Paracelcus]

18+, but looks 13, big eyes, short skirt!
Wow, sounds like Craigslist's adult section.

But of course she's really a 38-YO, crack whore with a C-section scar and a tattoo of some man's name on her ass.

Reverse Effect

[decipher_saint]

Y'know, I don't know about the rest of you, but for me the harder they try to get me to buy stupid shit the more I feel that I don't want to buy things advertised in mass media.

I see these billboards as a giant warning sign of what NOT to buy. If I fall into some assumed demographic and I don't already have the product I likely don't need it anyway.

Re:Reverse Effect

[maxume]

They'll just show you competitors products, or made up products.

Re:Reverse Effect

[decipher_saint]

Fine by me, it's a dead avenue.

Re:Reverse Effect

[dgower2]

I'm exactly the same way. A part of me despises the whole marketing industry, mainly because they really insult your intelligence by telling you absolutely nothing pertinent about the product. Rather, they try to project an image (happy family at dinner, attracting hot females, getting that promotion, etc.) I'm contantly wondering if there are people out there so weak minded that they actually buy into this crap.

You've got to be pretty low on the intelligence scale to buy car insurance based on a caveman, gecko, or stack of dollars with eyes.

They're capitalizing on the stupid.

How often will it change???

[Anonymous Coward]

I envision a flickering screen trying to display a tailored ad for every person of differing age/gender from the one who passed seconds ago. This could get ugly. Epileptics, avoid Tokyo trains!

Re:How often will it change???

[Dishevel]

I would think they would use and advanced version of this technology and be able to use the full screen to send individual ads to each person in the area at the same time.

Islam countries?

[vlueboy]

So this tech will not work against two types of foes:
Muslim women with only their eyes exposed
Those of us who will see these billboards everywhere in 30 years and start dressing lie ninjas in public.

Re:Islam countries?

[Anonymous Coward]

Muslim women with only their eyes exposed - Will be identified as ninjas
Those of us who will see these billboards everywhere in 30 years and start dressing lie ninjas in public. - Will be identified as muslim women

Re:Islam countries?

[decipher_saint]

Need Ninja supplies? Why not stop off at Goemon's One Stop Ninja Shop for all your Ninja needs! ...

Hey ladies, tired of targeted advertising? C'mon down to The Burqa Boutique, we've got the latest fashions just time in summer, all in the new classic; black! ...

A new life awaits you in the Off-World colonies!

Re:Islam countries?

[misexistentialist]

Ostensibly to protect women from repression, some western countries are banning burkas. If you examine the politicians' funding sources, however, you will see that advertisers and pirates are intended to be the real beneficiaries.

Re:Islam countries?

[Anonymous Coward]

1. an enteire gender dressing the same makes it way easier to identify that gender. So unless enough men start dressing like muslem women you'll probably still be able to flag them by gender, if not by age, but you get religion in trade.

2. as there aren't many actual ninjas wandering around these days I think it's safe to assume any people dressed like ninjas you detect are in the "dress like a ninja to spoof the scanner" demographic, so they'll get ads for tinfoil hats, or hard drive encription software.

Re:Islam countries?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ostensibly to protect women from repression, some western countries are banning burkas. If you examine the politicians' funding sources, however, you will see that advertisers and pirates are intended to be the real beneficiaries.

Curses!
Further proof that us ninjas and them pirates can NEVER co-exist in the same world!

Re:Islam countries?

[mjwx]

Those of us who will see these billboards everywhere in 30 years and start dressing lie ninjas in public.

BILLBOARD: New Sword(TM) from BladeTek(R). 40% sharper then other swords using BladeTek's(R) patented double blade system. A 7% greater curve allows for faster slicing then previous models resulting in a three second decrease per decapitation. Buy new Sword(TM) from BladeTek(R) today!

*not mandatory*

Re:Islam countries?

[vlueboy]

Those of us who will see these billboards everywhere in 30 years and start dressing lie ninjas in public.

BILLBOARD: New Sword(TM) from BladeTek(R). 40% sharper then other swords using BladeTek's(R) patented double blade system. A 7% greater curve allows for faster slicing then previous models resulting in a three second decrease per decapitation. Buy new Sword(TM) from BladeTek(R) today!

Hmmm. You have a point, wise one. To keep my ultimate technique from failing so utterly in 30 years, my clan is mandating ritual seppukku. I'll fall on my sword with pride today... and pity for the rest of you tomorrow ;)

Re:Islam countries?

[mjwx]

I'll fall on my sword with pride today... and pity for the rest of you tomorrow ;)

I picture the Gillette future, the sword of tomorrow with have 5 blades for a closer laceration.

Re:Islam countries?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ninja Clothing Wear-house! Great idea for a new retail clothing store.

Time to mass-produce these, I guess

[Yvan256]

FU masks.

QUIT WRITING DYSTOPIC SCIENCE FICTION...

[GreyWolf3000]

... you're giving them ideas!

Re:QUIT WRITING DYSTOPIC SCIENCE FICTION...

[Anonymous Coward]

I really wish I could mod you up for this.

Re:QUIT WRITING DYSTOPIC SCIENCE FICTION...

[smellsofbikes]

... you're giving them ideas!

The whole point of *good* science fiction is to issue a warning to the world about what will happen to us all if we don't act now to stop whatever issue the writer is writing about. Scifi that presents a good future is escapism. Scifi that extrapolates our current trends and demonstrates the catastrophe that will ensue, is great literature, and from the standpoint of its potential worth to our culture, it's probably the greatest literature we have.

Re:QUIT WRITING DYSTOPIC SCIENCE FICTION...

[GreyWolf3000]

Whoosh.

Imagine a dystopic future where the cruel masterminds that rule our society steal ideas from science fiction writers to aid them in their domination of mankind.

Re:QUIT WRITING DYSTOPIC SCIENCE FICTION...

[DeadDecoy]

I always wondered what people ... erm soylent green tasted like. Our McDonald's overlords must be fattening us up for the slaughter.

Re:QUIT WRITING DYSTOPIC SCIENCE FICTION...

[smellsofbikes]

Whoosh.

Imagine a dystopic future where the cruel masterminds that rule our society steal ideas from science fiction writers to aid them in their domination of mankind.

Yeah -- someone should write a science fiction piece about that as a warning.

Owait we just did.

See how this works?

Re:QUIT WRITING DYSTOPIC SCIENCE FICTION...

[GreyWolf3000]

Whoosh.

Imagine a dystopic future where the cruel masterminds that rule our society steal ideas from science fiction writers to aid them in their domination of mankind.

Yeah -- someone should write a science fiction piece about that as a warning.

Owait we just did.

See how this works?

I get what you are saying there, but I'm still confused.

I originally made a joke about the thought of a corrupt government getting ideas from dystopic science fiction authors. You then explained the point of science fiction, and I felt like you didn't get the joke.

Did you layer on a joke in your original response that was more subtle than I could detect?

Re:QUIT WRITING DYSTOPIC SCIENCE FICTION...

[Anonymous Coward]

Wait.

Writing about negatives is positive and writing about positives is negative?

Alright, good to know. Time to always write about the dangers of technological advancement and purport an Amish lifestyle as our only chance of survival.

Or...I make something like 2012. WOOO CATASTROPHES OCCURRING DUE TO CURRENT TRENDS.

Re:QUIT WRITING DYSTOPIC SCIENCE FICTION...

[Anonymous Coward]

... you're giving them ideas!

The whole point of *good* science fiction is to issue a warning to the world about what will happen to us all if we don't act now to stop whatever issue the writer is writing about.

I don't want to discuss the definition of science-fiction but the original poster has a point which is funny but scary at the same time. You might want to read the short story "Meddler"
(Spoiler: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meddler_%28short_story%29 ) by PKD.

Now you could argue that time travel and mere imagination aren't the same - although there can in theory just as many multiverses as there are imaginable realities. However, the effect of returning with information from the future and trying to prevent that very future, could just as well be caused by trying to prevent an imaginary future. Maybe the effect is totally different but it can be just as bad. Or worse?

Most would agree that giving children bad ideas is bad idea in itself. Even the law in most countries agrees and tries to censor information considered harmful. Just because you're warning people doesn't mean they're going to find the right counter-measure. Sometimes not being prepared is better than being prepared based on false, insufficient assumptions, for example, because you're conditioned to look for certain factors and therefore ignore others. If the weather can be altered by the flap of a butterfly's wings, I'm sure, the future can chaotically change by the slightest piece of information, even if it makes no significant difference almost always in either examples. I'm absolutely certain that publishing a story or assumed to be useful counter measures can cause the dystopia - or a very similar scenario - become reality. It would be completely naive to assume that writing stories have no effect other than entertaining people.

After all, the bible could be read as a harmless collection of ballads and fairy tales. However, if you read history books and the news you'll see what a massive effect these stories had on mankind. Sure, the bible isn't sci-fi, except for the Revelation maybe but that doesn't mean sci-fi cannot cause similar. Indeed, if you consider Jesus' message, it's quite the opposite of what fundamental Christians have turned it into. So who wants to bet, a warning in sci-fi, won't be the very guide book? Isn't that exactly what we perceive for good and bad so far?

Cable companies ...

[jabberwock]

We can't be very far away from having ads on cable TV that greet you by name and act like they know you.

Hi Bob,

As a 47-year-old married guy with two teen-agers who is having trouble paying his bills, we don't want to make you feel worse by showing you ads for products you can't afford, like new cars. We show those ads to Dave, next door. What you need is ... Pepto-Bismol, and maybe some antidepressants, right?

Oh, hell. Maybe they are doing that and I haven't caught on yet.

Crossdressers/transgendered?

[OhHellWithIt]

I wonder what it does for a passerby who is a crossdresser or transgendered.

Re:Crossdressers/transgendered?

[Yvan256]

Since the system is being developed in Japan, we know that crossdressing guys will be identified as evil because of the Square-Enix rules.

Re:Crossdressers/transgendered?

[stfvon007]

Come see Dr Okawa, voted best plastic surgeon by surviving patients in the greater Kyoto area! Free consultation! Mention this billboard and save 5% off all elective procedures!

Re:Crossdressers/transgendered?

[MonsterTrimble]

I can see a couple scenarios:

1) TG (Transgendered - using as umbrella term for Transsexual, Transvestite, Crossdresser, etc) is presenting in chosen gender and is identified as their genetic gender. Annoyance at first, then anger over a contant reminder of their genetic gender.

2) TG is closeted. Targetted adds begin to cause doubt among TG's companions regarding their identity eventually outing them.

Really, the next issue with facial recognition is the killer - Ads for dresses or heels naming you and talking about how you have bought similar styles previously. All in all, this is a lawsuit waiting to happen IMHO.

Re:Crossdressers/transgendered?

[Mister Whirly]

Just to be safe, it should show boobs in this case. Everyone likes boobs.

Re:Crossdressers/transgendered?

[elocinanna]

As a girl first and foremost (who happens to be described as transgendered by virtue of having a penis) I really wouldn't be happy about this if it becomes widespread.

Of course the reminder (or being "outed" if it's better at detecting gender types than people around) is an issue but what really pisses me off is this imposes the belief that somebody's gender can be determined by appearance alone.

This is a huge issue to people who suffer from the consequences of ignorance. Society daily makes things harder for me purely because of this assumption that I'm not a girl because I have a dark upper lip.

Ideally it'd go on clothes so that if you're wearing jeans it'll advertise jeans.. but that's far from perfect as men's jeans (and the ads for them) are different to girls. I could see me avoiding areas with these as carefully as I avoid tube stations with ads for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (you can't imagine how acceptable the looks I get next to one of those are.)

It sounds like a petty thing but people in my position really don't need any more shit to deal with.

Re:Crossdressers/transgendered?

[mdwh2]

TG is closeted. Targetted adds begin to cause doubt among TG's companions regarding their identity eventually outing them.

But doesn't this work on simply looking the person, i.e., it wouldn't know anything that anyone else can't already see?

Not that I'm a fan of gendered advertising anyway (sorry, I'm not interested in football and cars; and do we need to tell women that they only exist to look pretty all the time - we now laugh at those sexist ads from the 50s, but we haven't really moved on that much). I'm annoyed at sites which force you to enter in your gender, just so they can target ads at you. And yes, I agree we should be wary of these kinds of issues.

Re:Crossdressers/transgendered?

[MonsterTrimble]

I understand fully. I have a number of transgendered friends and it is very frustrating for them to have their gender assigned based on things other than their displayed gender.

Happy fun time signs!

[Quiet_Desperation]

"Hello [scanning] sir."

"Now that you are [scanning] in the prime of middle age, couldn't you see yourself in a brand new Generic Sport Sedan From GeneriCo?"

"Yes, sir, approach this kiosk, and I will display the many features of the Boring Oval Shaped Sedan 300Q"

"It is not necessary for you to hold a [scanning] metal pipe to view this ad."

"Neither is it necessary for you to [bzzzt] strike this kiosk with the [blargle] metal pipe."

"Please [buzz] stop [skree] hitting [roar] me, [bzzzzrrrzzzzzzzzzz] sir"

"[zzzzz] maintenance required [skttttttktktktk] please [bzzzzz] Daisy daisy [zzzzzz] rosebud"

"sssssssssss boop!"

(blessed silence)

Re:Happy fun time signs!

[e065c8515d206cb0e190]

What do you think you're doing Dave...

Re:Happy fun time signs!

[Anonymous Coward]

Tur-ret mainten-ance team to Cen-tral Command and Commun-ications Cen-ter

Re:Happy fun time signs!

[cparker15]

Hory clap! Soda in the nose stiiiiiiings!

Minority Report

[blueg3]

Apparently, software automatically determining a person's age and gender when they're in public is nearly the same as using data gleaned from a few insane psychics to arrest people for future crimes.

Except that they're completely different.

Thankfully, the Japanese have given us a solution

[wowbagger]

Thankfully, the Japanese have given us a solution - namely, 1 watt blue laser diodes.

And Wicked Lasers has made them portable.

Burn out all cameras
For Great Justice!

Will they screen the ads first?

[Quiet_Desperation]

As a 47-year-old married guy with two teen-agers who is having trouble paying his bills, we don't want to make you feel worse by showing you ads for products you can't afford, like new cars. We show those ads to Dave, next door. What you need is ... Pepto-Bismol, and maybe some antidepressants, right?

"Money problems? Did you know there are places in this world that will buy your children? Press "9" on your television remote for further details."

The technology is already in use in the US

[Kizeh]

And this is different from signs with the same capability that have been in US Malls for a good while only in that they're actually actively acting on the info, whereas the US marketers, AFAIK, only so far use it to analyze who is viewing their ads and for how long. Next time you're out and about the mall, look for the small camera on top of the ad. They're out there/

Re:The technology is already in use in the US

[Kizeh]

Reference link from two years ago: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/10/digital-billboa.html

Bra Ads

[abbynormal brain]

What's the algorithm that triggers this ad and can a man who triggered it sue?

Re:Bra Ads

[Anonymous Coward]

..and American business & technology slides even further down the tubes. Is there *anything* you can't sue for?

!Philip K Dick.

[Anonymous Coward]

If you actually read "Minority Report" you'll note that Philip K Dick didn't mention anything about fancy signboards. All of that stuff was added by the movie screenplay. So whilst Mr Dick was a pretty fair SciFi author, he wasn't able to predict THAT particular bit of technology.

Most of the movies that bear his name come from short stories that are really very little like the screenplay.

Burkhas forever!!!

[advocate_one]

all of a sudden I'm all in favour of being able to wear a Burkha in public... in order to preserve my anomynity!!! fsck the French and their anti-burkha law... and fsck the British parliament as apparently all of a sudden their in favour of an anti face covering law,,,

Yeah, yeah you're immune.

[Joce640k]

They'll just put up some bikini-clad bimbo with a geek-oriented sales pitch ... and you'll buy.

Must be that time of the month

[SmallFurryCreature]

Time to market some anti-PMS drugs to this chick.

gender??? lol

[Velex]

Every time I hear about this my interest is piqued. I've been taking estrogen for almost a decade now, but that was after my skeletal structure was permanently changed by testosterone before I found a doctor who was willing to treat my androgen problem (instead of assuming that more testosterone = GOOD yay testosterone. maybe for some, but not for me.)

Basically, I have a mix of male and female features. On some days guys hit on me because they think I'm cute and like my hair, and on other days females assume I'm a dweeb who just wants sex when I try to be friendly and talk. Funny enough I like the days when guys hit on me better because men are so much more polite than women (even creepy guys are more polite than most women)!

Anyway, I wonder, would this device waste time and money trying to advertise tampons to me? Would it turn me away by showing me attractive women being attracted to a guy who uses a certain deodorant or cologne (probably one I'd find nauseating anyway since I don't like smelling like a guy)?

I suppose it's probably coming to walls near me soon enough, so I guess I get to find out what gender a computer thinks I am. It seems to be a toss-up for you carbon-based lifeforms out there, not that I really mind. Sometimes it's fun trying to guess whether someone will call me ma'am or sir. All in all I guess I don't really care. Sir and ma'am are better than faggot or gaywad. Sometimes I'm in a bad mood, though, so don't be surprised if you call me ma'am and I don't respond because I was sure everyone would be calling me sir that day.

Now if they really had done their homework, it might figure out that I'm not quite male or female and advertise transgender products instead. Maybe if someone wanted to market a line of feminine clothes or something that would fit my body better than something cut for a female. I know, asking their neural net to allow for more than 2 genders in the world? Nonsense! I guess it just proves I'm a self-centered asshole, wanting to be recognized as a valid person who has money to spend and would like to see something advertised with her in mind.

If you had tons of data storage, would you want to be prepared to market to the 1 in 30,000 person like me who walks by your wall? Or would you rather just lose the business by operating off an incomplete assumption. Some more liberal estimates say they may even lose business from 1 in 5,000 by assuming because they look female they have a uterus or by assuming they look male and they won't be interested in girly things.

Lost business! It adds up!

Re:Thankfully, the Japanese have given us a soluti

[orkysoft]

Won't infrared leds be a lot safer, and still serve much the same purpose? Or good old duc[kt] tape?

Sales of visors already popular among the Asians

[Phizzle]

are to go through the roof. Invest now!

Only demographic info, not individual

[Sir Realist]

I know, I know; going to actually read the linked article breaks most /. rules of etiquette, but...

They're collecting statistical demographic data - like, "between 5:30 and 6:00 60% of people at station B are males between 25 and 35" - so they can haul it back to corporate headquarters, analyse it, and next week program the billboards to sell porn for that half-hour. They're not making the billboards react in realtime to whoever is there.

Which is a shame, really. Have you ever _seen_ a Japanese suburban train station? There's like a billion people on the platform at once, being mashed into train cars by strange little men in white gloves. Can you imagine what the system would do if it was trained to react to individuals? It'd explode! Everyone would get one pixel for their very own adspace...

Good luck with that.

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't tell how old strangers are within about 10 years anymore, not even when I'm sober.

As for identifying their gender - well, I'm on a pretty good hit rate but I'm definitely not telling you about when I got it wrong. Some memories should stay buried.

In Japan? Really?

[ComputerGeek01]

Am I the only one that is surprized that this technology is being tested in the country that has the most androgynous dressing + acting people in the world? I mean I know that I'm conceeded but these guys have REALLY got selfconfidence!

Ninja outfit is useless against body language...

[denzacar]

Cause, you can tell by the way I use my walk, I'm a woman's man, no time to talk.
So, whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother it can be derived.
A-ha, a-ha... It can be derived.

Are you a Marketing grad?

[ThrowAwaySociety]

If I'm interested in a product, I don't need to be told about it. If I want to find it, I'll find it

My head just exploded.

In general terms, the point of most advertising is to either introduce an unknown or new product to the public or to inform the public of benefits of using said product. As such, if you don't know about a product, how would you know you don't need to be told about it? Which means, you know you don't know so you don't need to know, therefore not knowing means you know enough about it to not need to know. WTF?!

*Boom* There it went again.

How about you just sell the product and let the market sort it out?

People (or "consumers," as marketers prefer to think of them) are actually quite capable of finding products to meet their needs. They talk to friends, consult experts and reference works, and visit retail stores.

Most products are not new. Most of them are only slightly altered versions of existing products...or worse, restyled versions of existing products (eg. clothes, MS Office releases.) In the exceptionally rare case that a truly new product is introduced, it's typically covered by the media (news, trade press, blogs, Slashdot) to some degree or another. And then there's word of mouth again.

Personally, I don't watch a lot of TV, and I block ads on the Internet. In spite of this, and to the confusion of marketing students everywhere, I manage to live a remarkably normal life. I'm not, as you marketers might assume, rocking back and forth in a bare, empty room, crying to myself and wondering if anyone has developed a consumable substance to satisfy the terrible hunger pangs that I periodically feel, cover my naked form, or entertain myself.

Re:Are you a Marketing grad?

[GooberToo]

How about you just sell the product and let the market sort it out?

Sounds like you need to re-read the thread above. What product? What market? Exactly. Those simply don't exist without marketing. Word of mouth is a form of marketing.

Basically what you're saying is, you've never bought anything and don't know anything about any product. All you know about is a hypothetical product called a "widget", and you have no idea where these things called, computers, originate.

Re:Are you a Marketing grad?

[ThrowAwaySociety]

How about you just sell the product and let the market sort it out?

Sounds like you need to re-read the thread above. What product? What market? Exactly. Those simply don't exist without marketing. Word of mouth is a form of marketing.

Basically what you're saying is, you've never bought anything and don't know anything about any product. All you know about is a hypothetical product called a "widget", and you have no idea where these things called, computers, originate.

Good lord, you're stupid. What is this, the Chewbacca Defense school of marketing?

"We have something, you need it, but it's so amazing we can't even tell you what it might be. Be glad we're telling you about it at all!"

You couldn't sell crack to an addict.

sweet tech

[iPhr0stByt3]

Combine this with those new TVs which can project 3D images without glasses as well as different images to 2 different people. These TVs are advertised as such, but are also capable of projecting 4 separate 2D images to individual people. Now, you have up to 4 people looking at a billboard and each one is getting his/her own personalized ad.

While creepy... it's pretty awesome.

Re:Viagra ads

[Anonymous Coward]

Its usually a big John, but it's a little bit cold outside this/that time of year you see?

Re:Thankfully, the Japanese have given us a soluti

[Vegeta99]

A LED perhaps, but a infrared laser certainly not! Your eye has no blink reflex for an infrared source, not that it much matters at 1W!

Gender versus sex: Stop getting it wrong!

[Anonymous Coward]

OK. To make this very simple: Gender is how you act. Sex is what bits you have.

If they can identify your GENDER from a billboard, they'd need to follow you around for days to see if you as a biological man stopped for directions or if you as a biological woman displayed problem-solving rather than empathetic tendencies in conversations and I think most of us would object.

If they can identify your SEX from a billboard, they'd look at simple facial markers and general build and I don't think that's quite as big an invasion of privacy.

What is with this terror of using the correct word in corporate outpourings?

Where are these billboards

[Anonymous Coward]

I live in Tokyo and I haven't seen any of these. Where are they?
The photo in TFA is of a billboard in America! Did they think we wouldn't notice?

As a transsexual...

[SetupWeasel]

It would really piss me off if it didn't consider me a woman. I don't need billboards screaming that I'm a goddamned tranny to the world. Being 6'2" is bad enough as it is.

Re:As a transsexual...

[mjwx]

It would really piss me off if it didn't consider me a woman. I don't need billboards screaming that I'm a goddamned tranny to the world. Being 6'2" is bad enough as it is.

and the facial hair.

BILLBOARD: Gillette, the best a...
BILLBOARD: Well they're really really good, trust us on that.

Mass Effect 2

[Luckyo]

How many instantly associated this with advertisement billboard in mass effect 2? Those were tailored to the character as well, though quite more deeply so causing quite a bit of hilarity when system couldn't access parts of Shepard's personal file, or just coming up with gibberish, like "you have been dead for...".

Hm

[mqduck]

I'm horrified by this, but in terms of technological innovations that horrify me, this is pretty low down the list. Which is pretty itself...

Re:Hm

[mqduck]

Which is pretty *scary* itself. Curse you, accustomization to the preview button.

Blowback.

[Anonymous Coward]

My application (e.g. iPhone app) that detects such advertising boards, detects the ad shown, looks up the Head of Advertising, composes personalised email to said HoA, cc'd to CEO, stating that as a result of being attacked, sorry targeted, by your company at such a place on such a time, your organaisation has been added to my never buy from list, include calculated loss of sale (based on open source version of RIAA algorithm), send email repeatedly.

And for the morons: just because my face is pointed towards you, that doesn't mean I am looking at you or interested in you - Because You Are Not Worth It (copyright me, today)

OK

[nu1x]

> OK, I can accept that I may be wrong, that there may be some privacy issue that I'm not seeing.

I imagine a more advanced version - it recognizes me by face, correlates it (magically, maybe even via legally gray methods) to my Google searches, and peddles me dickgirl lolicon manga (oh no, I went there), WHILE I'm walking around with my lower-aged guy-friend with whom any sex-related themes are taboo by mutual choice. (We are both guys, we talk exclusively about fighting related stuff, weapons and videogames lets say).

Hilarity ensues.

I see an embryo of a similar situation developing ALREADY, with present tech.

Oh

[nu1x]

> "Money problems? Did you know there are places in this world that will buy your children? Press "9" on your television remote for further details."

This, combined with you nickname, paints a scary picture ... :/

Sex and age in japan?

[Zeros]

This is the most amazing machine ever created... i cant even recognize sex or age of some japanese people.