A few weeks ago America tuned in to watch IBM’s supercomputer named Watson compete on “Jeopardy!“ Thanks to advanced technology in voice recognition and data processing, the machine competed effortlessly with its human challengers, besting both Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter without sweating a byte. Personally, it was difficult to watch Watson perform and not think that maybe I spent too much time investing in surviving the zombie apocalypse and not enough time being worried about the rise of robots. However, outside my own psyche, the advent of super-human-like, super-smart computers isn’t nearly as science fiction as it sounds. Or as it should be.
“Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek and contestants (from left to right) Jennings, Watson (non-humanoid) and Rutter.
For the past 25 years, there has been an interesting theory brewing in scientific communities that, thanks to machines like IBM’s Watson, may be coming to the social consciousness very soon. The theory is called Singularity, referring to the moment that humans and machines become one. The author Ray Kurzweil used the term to describe what he viewed as the inevitable point in time when humans create machines that surpass their own intelligence, the output being “spiritual machines.”
Kinda creepy, right? Maybe sounds a little too far off to even be talked about seriously in an advertising blog? Well, since your mind is only that of a mere human, you might be surprised at how close we could be to a technological future where the lines of what we traditionally view as technology and actual life are blurred.
For example, Watson is a mega-computer that runs an incredible amount of data through an incredible amount of algorithms incredibly fast to find statistically high corresponding keywords (i.e., fake a super-human intelligence). Watson’s processor ran at 500 GB/sec, allowing it to access terabytes of information much faster than its poor human opponents. But how does that affect life outside a game show? Well, currently it is a machine fine-tuned to kick ass on “Jeopardy!” but its creators believe Watson also has great potential to unlock solutions in a series of industries involving heavy data analysis such as healthcare, finance and customer service.
Now, that’s all great and I truly hope my banker pals get their turn with Watson (think of the more complex pyramid schemes they could design!), but here’s what I’m interested in: what could Watson do in advertising? And more specifically, knowing that the advancement of technology is starting to break down the barrier between human and machine, what does advertising look like in light of Singularity?
Well, Google is the best example of a company creating revolutionary technology to become more relevant to advertisers. They’re certainly not creating cars that drive themselves just for the hell of it. Sure, their products, like Facebook’s, increase productivity and social sharing, but they’re also great at creating large databases of information about user behavior that are awfully useful when targeting advertisements. And collecting this data is only getting easier.
We’re already tracking user behavior on things like websites, email or anything you do from a laptop or smart phone. But it’s thanks to the rise of things like “the app” and Internet TV that allow us to track users across untraditional platforms such as in their car. The new Chevy Cruze will read your Facebook updates to you, which is cool, but what’s even cooler is when your in-car Pandora app serves you an ad for a specific pair of shoes you were shopping for earlier from your iPhone.
A future in Singularity between man and machine includes more than just a flat digital world, though; it could go as far as the interconnectivity of body parts. Thanks to what would need to be some insane advancements in medical technology, one day I might be able to install a telephone/headphone combo directly in my inner ear, have my eyes enhanced to allow for true photographic memory or download an Adderall prescription straight into my brain. All things that would have been perfect to have in college.
So not only will advertisers track your video consumption on your laptop or shopping orders on your iPhone, but there is a possibility that we will be able to collect data on all human interactions. A future with Singularity could go as far as to include the option to run a direct download from your brain into Google of every personal preference, idea, action, piece of advice, dumb joke, sad memory or terrible pickup line you’ve ever heard (I could probably fill a few gigs with the latter).
To keep it going, think about every client’s favorite acronym in 2010, DSP. Demand Side Platforms are great for targeting users and serving qualified impressions on the Web. But think of the great potential we have when using Watson’s computing power to create targeted advertisements or look-alike modeling across all human interactions. In the not-so-distant future, my agency might be able to win an account pitch by not only making the promise of knowing the brand’s target audience, but also knowing everything that they know (their dreams, their fears, their personal beliefs, what turns them on, etc.).
What if in five years I walk into a Footlocker and a hologram of my favorite rapper, Jay-Z, walks up to me and says, “Yo, Nate, what’s up? It’s cha boy. You know I know you’re sad about your girlfriend breaking up with you and all, but here are some new Nike kicks you gotta buy. You’ve already seen the commercial for them eight times, been exposed to three billboards for them and clicked on a Facebook ad for them yesterday, so I know you like ‘em. Also, they’re blue, which has been your favorite color since you were three and you would color pictures of the ocean at Grandma’s house. You’re crazy for this one!”
So I might have creeped you out with that last example, but it’s a conversation worth having when it comes to the future of advertising. As our offline world becomes more online and connected, we are going to be swimming in user data (maybe even literally). Add the lightning-fast supercomputing power of machines like Watson to the equation, and we’re going to see advertisers take advantage of that data in some really interesting and unique ways.
So what do you think? Should we just go ahead and call the Terminator now?
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