Modern advertisers will put commercials and billboards just about anywhere, but they’re not nearly as intrusive as depicted in the futuristic 2002 Steven Spielberg thriller Minority Report, where street side billboards address city-goers by name, and holographic spokespersons are literally projected into your path. In the film, personal data is pulled from ubiquitous, Orwellian retina scanner, there’s no “allow” button or opt-in agreement, it’s just the way of the future. Keith Barry is a contributing writer for Wired.com Autopia. He recently wrote about a patent filed by General Motors that would use information collected from its OnStar navigation system to personalize passing billboards to drivers.
