Japan Tests Minority Report-Style Ads

Though not on a first-name basis, digital billboards now being tested in Japan are scanning passersby "with cameras that read the gender and age group of people looking at them to tailor their commercial messages," reports the Daily Nation. "The camera can distinguish a person's sex and approximate age, even if the person only walks by in front of the display, at least if he or she looks at the screen for a second."

Late last month, 27 digital ads were installed in Tokyo's subway and train stations to test the technology. The one-year pilot project for the Digital Signage Promotion Project is being careful about privacy concerns.

The project promises that only "collated data" is being gathered by the digital signs. Each 52-inch digital ad features a message that informs the public, "Advertising survey under way; images being recorded to determine gender and age groups."

The flip side to this could be Bynamite, a tiny startup that's looking to help users share their personal information with marketers — provided they get a little something in return.