One look, and the ads know what you need

Dear YCD Multimedia: I have some issues with your Facial Recognition Technology, and I’m not referring to the unfortunate acronym. Sure, it’s intended to recognize customers by scanning their faces—and then serve in-store ads based on their past purchases. But it must be malfunctioning. Last week at Walgreens, the checkout screens began flashing ads for Metamucil, Rogaine and Viagra as soon as I reached the counter. I’m not sure why my features prompted such a humiliating display, but I could hear the people snickering all the way over in cosmetics.