The voices made me do it…
Well this is starting to get creepier and creepier…
Several years ago I dug up an article attributed to “Ad Age” about a new technology that makes people hear voices in their head. Nobody else will hear it but them.
Now, we see that a German (how appropriate) company is planning on using the same technology on train passengers.
Sure, a nifty gimmick but think about the implications; for years people have claimed to hear voices that have “made them do things”. In some cases, very bad things. On the other hand, it is well known that intelligence agencies have dabbled with this kind of thing in mind control experiments. Specifically, in creating a “Manchurian Candidate”, or controlled assassin. Presumably, under the right series of events and guidence, someone could be compelled to commit an assassination with no foreknowledge or understanding of their actions. Think Sirhan-Sirhan and Robert Kennedy for instance.
So here are two articles about this technology- if it is being used commercially right now, you know damned well that it has been used covertly in the past.
Voice to Skull Technology in New York
December 12th, 2007
Via: AdAge:
New Yorker Alison Wilson was walking down Prince Street in SoHo last week when she heard a woman’s voice right in her ear asking, “Who’s there? Who’s there?” She looked around to find no one in her immediate surroundings. Then the voice said, “It’s not your imagination.”
Indeed it isn’t. It’s an ad for “Paranormal State,” a ghost-themed series premiering on A&E this week. The billboard uses technology manufactured by Holosonic that transmits an “audio spotlight” from a rooftop speaker so that the sound is contained within your cranium. The technology, ideal for museums and libraries or environments that require a quiet atmosphere for isolated audio slideshows, has rarely been used on such a scale before. For random passersby and residents who have to walk unwittingly through the area where the voice will penetrate their inner peace, it’s another story.
Ms. Wilson, a New York-based stylist, said she expected the voice inside her head to be some type of creative project but could see how others might perceive it differently, particularly on a late-night stroll home. “I might be a little freaked out, and I wouldn’t necessarily think it’s coming from that billboard,” she said.
Joe Pompei, president and founder of Holosonics, said the creepy approach is key to drawing attention to A&E’s show. But, he noted, the technology was designed to avoid adding to noise pollution. “If you really want to annoy a lot of people, a loudspeaker is the best way to do it,” he said. “If you set up a loudspeaker on the top of a building, everybody’s going to hear that noise. But if you’re only directing that sound to a specific viewer, you’re never going to hear a neighbor complaint from street vendors or pedestrians. The whole idea is to spare other people.”
Holosonics has partnered with a cable network once before, when Court TV implemented the technology to promote its “Mystery Whisperer” in the mystery sections of select bookstores. Mr. Pompei said the company also has tested retail deployments in grocery stores with Procter & Gamble and Kraft for customized audio messaging. So a customer, for example, looking to buy laundry detergent could suddenly hear the sound of gurgling water and thus feel compelled to buy Tide as a result of the sonic experience.
Mr. Pompei contends that the technology will take time for consumers to get used to, much like the lights on digital signage and illuminated billboards did when they were first used. The website Gawker posted an item about the billboard last week with the headline “Schizophrenia is the new ad gimmick,” and asked “How soon will it be until in addition to the do-not-call list, we’ll have a ‘do not beam commercial messages into my head’ list?”
“There’s going to be a certain population sensitive to it. But once people see what it does and hear for themselves, they’ll see it’s effective for getting attention,” Mr. Pompei said.
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Sky Deutschland to broadcast adverts directly into train passengers’ heads
Sky Deutschland has developed technology to transfer adverts from train windows directly and silently into commuters’ heads.
By Andrew Trotman
5:44PM BST 03 Jul 2013
320 Comments
Passengers leaning their head against the window will “hear” adverts “coming from inside the user’s head”, urging them to download the Sky Go app.
The proposal involves using bone conduction technology, which is used in hearing aids, headphones and Google’s Glass headset, to pass sound to the inner ear via vibrations through the skull.
A video for the Talking Window campaign released by Sky Deutschland and ad agency BBDO Germany states: “Tired commuters often rest their heads against windows. Suddenly a voice inside their head is talking to them. No one else can hear this message.”
The voice comes from a Sky-branded transmitter made by Audiva that is attached to the train window.
BBDO spokesman Ulf Brychcy told the BBC: “If our customer Sky Deutschland agrees, we will start with the new medium as quickly as possible.
“Some people don’t like advertising in general. But this is really a new technology. [It might] not only be used for advertising, but also for music, entertainment, mass transport information, weather reports and so on.”
Sky Deutschland said it had not made a decision on whether to launch the campaign.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/10158311/Sky-Deutschland-to-broadcast-adverts-directly-into-train-passengers-heads.html
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What was that? Did you hear it?
The voice in my head directs me to do the dishes, take out laundry, mow, and haul the trash to the curb.
I need help.