1984

We all knew that the day would eventually come when our televisions would be able to watch us.  Well, that day is almost here. And people are freaking out.

Comcast has announced that it is working on technology that would allow your television to see who’s watching it and adjust the programming and advertising accordingly. For example, if I sit down to watch the tube all my favorite channels–Comedy Central, Discovery, History, MSNBC, ESPN, etc.–will pop up, along with recommendations for shows that I might find interesting. If my girlfriend comes into the room the device would ostensibly add TLC, the Food Network, and some info about the impending Grey’s Anatomy disaster. And if my cat manages to pull his fat ass up onto the couch, Animal Planet should magically appear.

The promise of this technology is that, beyond programming, it will allow advertisers to target you with uncanny specificity, which will only get more precise as TV becomes an increasingly solitary experience. They’re calling it the Holy Grail.

And people are up in arms over it.

We get to watch what we want without the distraction of things we don’t care about with the added benefit of commercials that are tailored to our interests, and people are upset. It’s the same thing that Amazon has been doing for years now. iTunes does it, too. Google, too. Even this blog site does it.

I look forward to getting e-mails from Amazon telling me about the latest book that I might want to check out. And, 90% of the time, I do want to check it out. The biggest problem, the only problem I have with this, is that I don’t have the cash to buy the books.

The problem facing Comcast is that it’s using cameras to recognize its viewers and people do not like the idea of being watched. It begs ceaseless references to Orwell, Big Brother, and totalitarian states. It’s not good. And people have the right to be nervous.

What Comcast needs is one hell of a PR plan to alleviate people’s concerns. Nobody will buy into this technology on the face of it. Comcast will have to explain how the technology works, how much data is stored, who has access to that data, and how people will be able to opt out if they don’t like it. And that’s just the beginning of the media blitz.

The moment someone is found snooping through people’s data, like what happened at the State Department this week, the program will be in serious jeopardy.

What Comcast and the other cable operators should consider is some other type of viewer recognition technology. You have to sign in to get into your Amazon account, iTunes account, and so on. It serves the same purpose as camera recognition technology, namely that it tailors all recommendations to your interests, but without the hassle of looking like the government of Oceana. It works on the Internet. Why wouldn’t it work on TV?

This is an extremely delicate situation and Comcast has to appreciate it and recognize it for what it is. Otherwise, we’re going to party like it’s 1984.