1824 iDTV

I spend a lot of time in these commentaries bemoaning the infiltration of technology into our private lives. It's not machines I distrust though. It's machines in the wrong hands. I may be crazy and paranoid, but that doesn't mean they're not really out to get me.
Take the combination of recent technologies. Thanks to ultra-small cameras, digital imaging, and recognition software, it's possible for your TV to watch you.
Yep, be careful what you do in the living room, tomorrow's reality TV may be you. At least to the technician back at the station. And perhaps to the hackers who highjacked his signal.
An example. In the new smart billboard technology, in which billboards change based on the viewer, a charity recently ran ads that only played to female viewers. The billboard decided the viewer was female based on recognition software.
Kraft and Adidas are experimenting with digital signs that recommend recipes or walking shoes to busy mothers. Ads based on whether consumers are happy, sad, healthy, sick, comfortable or nervous are next, thanks to computer analysis of posture and facial expression.
From digital signs and billboards to home TVs with hidden cameras is a small step. How many places on the edge of your screen could hide a lens with black but translucent plastic?
Microsoft has built an entire advertising platform around Kinect, which can detect the presence and age of anyone in the room. And all their motions.
Hmmm. Right now all the technology is centered around personalizing ads. But some Big Brother may just want to personalize your vote next. Or hold you hostage with some racy video.
Welcome to America's Soon-to-be-Wanted Blackmail channel.
Pay per not view, or we'll reveal your identity with iDTV.
What did you do on the couch last night?
America, ya gotta love it.