Eye scanners and Tom Cruise

The 2003 movie Minority Report has it all. Action, drama and Scientology prophet Tom Cruise. But the futuristic flick set in Washington D.C. in 2054 also gives some interesting insight into our future.

In D.C. in 2054, people's eyes are their identification. Scanners read eyes as people board trains and buy products. Eyes, as in Tom's case, can work against you too, as he is tracked by these scanners when he is a fugitive from the law. To evade the authorities, Tom gets a now-common black market procedure, an eye transplant.

To match his new eyes, Tom heads to the Gap to get some new gear. As he walks in, a scanner reads his eyes and a young woman appears on a screen in front of him. "Welcome back to the Gap Mr. Yakamoto," she says. "How are those khakis working out for you?"

Even before the transplant, Tom, who plays John Anderton, experiences constant bombardment by futuristic advertising. As he walks through the mall, the walls shine with electronic displays. Vacation ads ask him, "Isn't time you got away, Mr. Anderton."

In most futuristic science-fiction movies, the future is too advanced and far-fetched . In "Minority Report," I could watch it and say, "Yeah, I can see that happening." Advertising is already creeping into our media so rapidly that it is impossible to avoid. It is constantly finding new ways to reach the masses. And, it is not so hard to believe that someday it will be precisely personalized while you walk down the street.

This kind of technology would allow companies to use all of your information and put you into a certain category. Then, they would formulate a specialized pitch for the category you fit into as your eyes got scanned. It would no doubt be a formidable advertising strategy.

Advertising is already inescapable. Perhaps, in the future, it will be even more assertive and specialized.