Working On Book
As some of you may or may not know, just before I had my heart attack and surgery, I had signed a pretty major book deal with a leading publisher. Of course, this book is on Biometrics, but the perspective it is taking is that is how it can be used in the cloud, and how it can be used in the world of cryptography (also known as Bio-Cryptography). During my time off my normal day job, I had spent an a great deal of time starting to write the first chapter of this book.
It was off to a slow start, but now it is taking some serious shape, and I for one am pretty pleased with it. Maybe it will be a New York Times bestseller? Who knows. Part of the first chapter deals with my own definition of Biometrics, and what it is not. You’re gonna have to read it to see what my lovely definition is. Anyways, to the more interesting part, what is Biometrics not? Well, what Biometrics is NOT, in my view, is what I call our internal organs.
By this, I mean, the heart beat, pulse rate, perspiration rate, level of brain waves, etc. Yes, these are all unique for each and every individual, and in the medical world, they are considered to be “Biometrics”, but in the computer science world of Biometrics (giving you a hint of the definition), this would not be Biometrics. Why? Well, there is no existing technology which can make use of a heartbeat, or a brainwave in order to positively verify or confirm the identity of a particular individual. So, with this in mind I bring to you a press release which talks about “Neuromarketing”, and how it is becoming a new “Biometric”.
The details: “The field of neuromarketing is developing rapidly. The term Neuromarketing was only coined in 2002 but in only 5 weeks, the second edition of the Neuromarketing World Forum is organized. From 6-8 March neuromarketing scientists and businessmen gather in São Paulo to share their latest insights . . . Neuromarketing is the so-called marriage of behavioral neuroscience (‘why do we do what we do?’) and marketing (‘why do we buy what we buy?’). It uses biometric techniques like EEG, eye tracking, facial coding and fMRI to learn more about what consumers really think about products, services and communications. Biometrics measurements of unconscious responses turn out to be a better predictor of future purchases than for instance self-report.” (SOURCE: http://findbiometrics.com/world-forum-for-biometric-based-neuromarketing-field/).
My Take
OK, I have written about Neuromarketing a few times before in the past, and how it can be used for market research in order to gauge customer’s responses to certain advertisements, whether it be online, on TV, or even in traditional print. The idea here is to see what the response will be like to a statistical sampling of people, in order to create the best marketing strategy possible, and get the biggest bang for the buck, as the saying goes.
True, certain Biometric related technologies may be involved like using the face or the eye, but again, I do not consider these to be “Biometrics” in the truest sense of the word. There has to be some sort of verification and/or identification involved here, and in my view, Nueromarketing simply does not do that.
Yea, it is a great tool for marketing and sell a lot of products and services, but I don’t think it will ever prove to be a viable Biometric technology in my definition of things. In fact, if you read the book whenever it comes out in print, I have discussed this very fact.
So, no I don’t think brain waves will ever be used to confirm the identity of an individual. Let something like DNA Recognition come out first, which will prove to be a much more viable technology than Neuromarketing ever will be. Harsh I know, but I am very objective in my views.
This is indeed a "must read" article! Thanks for sharing all these great ideas on biometrics!
Posted by: darcy hubbert | February 19, 2013 at 03:31 AM