NBC Los Angeles interviewed journalism professor Gabriel Kahn in a piece about television technology that would record what viewers say and do while they watch.
Verizon, the cable provider developing the technology, would then tailor advertisements to a viewer's needs and tastes.
Kahn said Verizon would need the "ad inventory that can target that person when the moment arises. So if someone says, 'I'm thinking about buying a new car,' you have to have a car ad ready."
Although the targeted ads would be useful, it is an invasion of privacy. Kahn explained that there would have to be an incentive for users to give up their privacy, like a discount on cable service.
Kahn joined USC Annenberg in the fall of 2010, where he jointly runs the Media, Economics and Entrepreneurship program. The goal of M{2e} is to bolster students’ understanding of economics and encourage innovation and experimentation with new ideas in communication and journalism.
