Sentient Barbie: From Hello To Hell No

Avid listeners of Ground Zero understand there is always a basic blueprint for programs and that is the arduous task of connecting dots. It is actually a practice that used to be utilized for the sole purpose of long-form investigative journalism. Sometimes, story lines are connected and even before they become solid in the media narrative, independent writers and producers see a trend and often latch on to a pattern to see where it goes and to approximate the final outcome.

The show generating a tremendous amount of controversy was the show about Neuropolitics. There were many listeners that decided the show was about bashing politicians, and of course it appeared that way. I stated most politicians are mentally ill and with all of the FMRI and MRI science having been procured, it may be advantageous to scan the brains of our candidates to see if their gray matter is functioning properly.

I know some people only get an hour of the show and that is unfortunate because the show in the third hour turned the tables a bit and pointed out that while it may be unethical to get inside the brains of politicians, the surveillance state has already found ways to get inside your brain with neuromarketing and neurolinguistic language.

Neuropolitics, neuromarketing and neurolinguistic programming are distant cousins to the surveillance infrastructure. It taps into the brain and searches for what triggers excitement in a person. It also analyses what motivates and confuses people. It is Big brother inside your head—and it manipulates you into believing that 2+2=5.

Neuromarketing techniques allegedly improve marketing effectiveness by understanding sub-conscious behavioral triggers and then crafting images and messages that can stimulate the relevant parts of the brain and incite the right behaviors.

It can also be used to confuse and deliver disinformation.

Does anyone remember the Pepsi vs. Coke challenge?

The truth about it is that it was a primitive level of neuromarketing to confuse the public into believing Pepsi was preferred and outselling Coca Cola. While most people taking the challenge consciously chose the taste of Pepsi, and those watching the ads believed that Pepsi did taste better than Coke, actual consumer behavior continued to favor Coke.

However, Coke had to respond to the accusations of Pepsi tasting better and offered an altered formula to combat the allegation – this confused the public and New Coke failed.

When the public is confused they do nothing. That was the objective.

Without the fancy name, neuro-manipulation is a form of psychotronic warfare against you.

Psychotronic warfare, initiated by the military, has been adapted for civilian use. Only in a society of based on profit-driven overconsumption and materialism can a technology that has the potential to aid corporations in manipulating your behavior on a subconscious level be seen as a good thing. Never mind the slippery slope. What’s to stop this technology from being used to suppress undesirable behaviors, like dissent and protest?

What is to stop it from convincing you to buy something or to use something that in the long run will benefit the surveillance infrastructure and the data mining apparatus?

Ever wonder why Apple user’s like their iPads? Ever wonder why we continue to use Facebook , Twitter, and Smart phones even though we know the government has the potential to spy on us when we use them or participate in social media?

It is because we have been programmed to like it. We have been told that everybody likes it and they can’t function without it. Whatever technique they are using, it is working.

Whatever neuromarketers do they know that moving an icon on an iPad gives consumers a dopamine squirt of delight and that is why we use them.

The best time to see Neuromarketing at work is during the time where overconsumption grips us yearly during the holiday season. It is the unfortunate stimulus that motivates people to camp out at the local Wal-Mart waiting for the day after Thanksgiving –where they can crowd and trample their fellow man during the Christmas rush.

Now wouldn’t be just a bit on the unethical side to sell new toys and communication devices, even computers that when used on Christmas day send data back to the manufacturer or even to unknown parties that monitor or spy on the American public?

The data sent would be used for neuromarketing strategies and would help the manufacturer develop a better toy – or would it be a better trap that can be used to incriminate the consumer?

Big Brother is watching you through your Christmas gifts.

Although surveillance has become ubiquitous, most people have no idea how pervasive it’s become. For instance, Google Chrome can turn on your computer’s microphone and record everything occurring around you, even when you think it’s off.

X-Box has its Kinect camera that is connected to the X-Box system to detect body motion and allow full-body movement in playing games, rather than hand-held controllers.

Having a Kinect camera used to be a choice for consumers—with the X-box one the Kinect “eye” was built into the system.

Extreme Tech reported that “Microsoft filed for a Kinect-related patent, which describes the new functions of the Kinect camera and that is to “spy” on the consumer and to collect data about who is using the X-Box.

The patent describes a camera-based system that would monitor the number of viewers in a room and check to see if the number of occupants exceeded a certain threshold set by the content provider. If there are too many warm bodies present, the device owner would be prompted to purchase a license for a greater number of viewers.

This means that if this is true, the Microsoft “authorities” will be well aware of how many people are in your household, who is in your household, when they are watching television, what television shows they are watching, what videos they are watching, and, what games they are playing, etc. If the authorities decide the number of people in the room exceeds the license agreement of public viewing, they will notify the authorities.

The All Seeing Eye will never turn off – and the data will go to Microsoft for neuromarketing research.

Now the latest toy that will be popular this Christmas is Hello Barbie and it is an attempt to revitalize its Barbie brand. Hello Barbie is said to be a Wi-Fi-connected doll with artificial intelligence.

Hello Barbie makes conversation using voice recognition technology, similar to the way Apple’s interactive Siri works.

The doll “talks” to children by recording what they say and responding accordingly. All of the children’s interactions with the doll are recorded using a microphone and are sent to a remote server through Wi-Fi. The recorded voices are then interpreted by an algorithm in order to generate an appropriate response. All of the responses and other data given from the child to the doll will be monitored and will be stored in the Cloud.

When her microphone is turned on, the doll records its playmate’s voice. The child’s dialogue then travels over the internet to a server, which interprets it so Barbie can give a tailored, pre-recorded response. It’s similar to the way Apple’s interactive Siri works.

However, getting the doll to work takes a number of hoops you have to jump through in order to create that special friend who talks, understands and spies on your kids.

Well meaning parents are told to activate the doll by downloading an app on a smartphone, creating an account using an e-mail address, and connecting the doll to the home’s Wi-Fi network. The Wi-Fi connected doll — which is equipped with a tiny microphone — could act as a double agent, passing on personal information shared by your child for marketing research.

It will be an important first step in disguising a Neuromarketing double agent as a well known and beloved toy.

It is also a frightening thought that the Cloud can be hacked by creeps who could send disturbing or offensive messages to the child. This has happened before to baby monitors that are hooked up to the Wi-Fi systems.

Hello Barbie fits the criteria of a surveillance device in the home and a Neuromarketing tool that can be used to improve the product.

According to the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood: “Kids using, ‘Hello Barbie’ won’t only be talking to a doll, they’ll be talking directly to a toy conglomerate whose only interest in them is financial.”

What is most effective about the toy is that it can predict consumer behavior and the information can even help in the making of other toys.

Could this be the beginning of using toys as spying devices? Have they already used toys to spy on families? What other products have hidden materials used to monitor behaviors and choices?

Perhaps this is why Santa knows when your child is sleeping, or when your child is awake. Whether or not your child is bad or good someone will be collecting the data and using it.

You better watch out.

Text – Check out Ground Zero Radio with Clyde Lewis Live Nightly @ http://www.groundzeromedia.org