Every new story about a computer service that “reads” user words terrifies privacy advocates, who say our machines will soon know everything about us.
Perhaps that will happen one day, but that day certainly isn’t here yet.
I use Gmail, which supposedly reads email and then delivers relevant ads based upon what you and your friends are talking about. The only problem is that the ads are generally comically irrelevant.
This weekend, I wrote a friend who went to UNC and lives in Charlotte to ask whether he went to the stadium and saw his alma mater play live. He responded to say, yes, he saw them and was hoping to buy Final Four tickets to see them again in San Antonio next weekend.
So were the ads for ticket sellers? No. That would be smart, relevant advertising.
No, the ads were for a horror movie called “The Ruins.”
Why? Because the system read the word “saw” in our conversation and decided (despite the fact that “saw” is a very common word) that we simply must be talking about the horror movie “Saw.”
Another ad was for a tile saw.
The end of privacy may be coming, but it’s not here yet.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Entries (RSS)