Is Technology Going Too Far?

Cablevision in New York is using interactive technology. Starting in October 2009 approximately 3 million digital subscribers will be offered "Optimum Select". When Optimum Select commercials are shown, viewers can use the select button on their remote controls to request more information, coupons or a free sample of the product in the ad. Benjamin Moore paint is one of the national brands that will air interactive ads. When the technology is more developed, viewers will be able to buy products with their remotes. This is an "ad-vancement" in technology for "ad-dicted" shoppers.

Due to a partnership between Phillips Electronics and a Dutch bank, there is now technology to help individual investors buy stocks. The "'Rationalizer" is basically a mood bracelet that warns home traders when they're feeling overly emotional. In addition to the science-fiction-looking "EmoBracelet", there's a light emitting "EmoBowl" that is placed near the trader's computer. As the trader's feelings intensify, the bowl's glow changes from yellow to orange to red due to galvanic skin response sensors that measure sweat. Because males are supposedly more emotional as investors than females, this product would be helpful to male investors who want to take stock of themselves.

For $99 some companies are offering genetic testing technology to match couples by DNA. They claim biological compatibility improves sex, reduces cheating and provides longer-lasting love. Supposedly people are attracted to people with different immune system genes - more specifically, to body odor "fingerprints" determined by different HLA genes in the immune system. However, when a random sample of married couples was tested, their immune systems were not notably different. Also hundreds of studies have shown the importance of personality and appearance in attraction. One company has tested more than 1,000 people, but "gene partnering" doesn't seem to be the work of "geniuses".

Technology has also given us sperm banks, but a Southern California sperm bank has taken this one step farther. Instead of having clients select a donor from descriptions covering everything from ethnicity to eye color, Cryobank matches its donors to the celebrity the donors most resemble. However, this resemblance is decided by the sperm bank - not by computerized, face-recognition technology. The sperm bank's Web site also states "No celebrity is meant as an exact match for any donor nor should you assume that your future children will look like any celebrity listed" - obviously, a disclaimer for starry-eyed, prospective clients.