http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5116762.stm

It's quite telling that the first use for this technology mentioned in the article is to ascertain "the best time to sell something" to someone. Hmmm.

Another use though is the potential to help people with autism, or as a dashboard system on a car (undoubtedly intended to couple with an auto pilot system so as to pull you to the side of the road and stop when the car in front cuts you up, resulting in your being a little bit miffed. No doubt that will then be connected to a wireless alarm (charged to your mobile phone) and a GPS tracker so that the police can arrive and book you for "road rage" after you've accrued an hour or so of premium rate charges on your mobile phone as a "fine" for your transgression).

On the other hand, could you imagine Windows if it could detect a users emotions? Would Microsoft program it to wind you up deliberately? Perhaps those good old 'black hat hackers' could get together with spammers to use the technology in such a way as to know when it would be the best time to push antidepressant or viagra offers into your email inbox, or to know when you were most vulnerable and likely to enter your credit card details into a dating service, collect info on you, sell it for market research, and steal your identity (and anything left on your credit card).

Seriously though, while it's an amazing piece of technology, there are undoubtedly many good uses for it but I can't help wondering if perhaps it could become a further invasion of privacy over time, as more and more corporations, companies, and perhaps even governments put it to unscrupulous uses.

unfortunetly, all inventions that were created with the best of intentions will be used for "evil" if people find a way.

I don't see any way around us.

as far as spam and spyware is concerned, hopefully we will see this entire practice become illegal in the near future. although with all the money involved in that industry, I don't see it ever happening