Computers that watch…and see more than you think?

The New York Times’ New Year’s Day entry in their ‘Smarter Than You Think’ series covers the gamut: facial and behavioral recognition software that can predict actions from prison riots, to terrorism, to dementia; DARPA’s drone soldier scouts; ‘smart rooms’ which enforce hospital anti-infective procedures; mirrors that can detect heart rate; and…Google Goggles (that match phone photo pictures with similar images online). It’s all good, until….already facial recognition software is being used for market research–to predict emotions that precede buying or reactions to movies (Affectiva). Article.