Targeting existed long before computers. The difference today is the massive amount of very personal data being collected on people without their knowledge or c

Targeting existed long before computers. The difference today is the massive amount of very personal data being collected on people without their knowledge or consent and the risks it puts on them. Imagine if you went back to say the 1920s, and you told a marketing director that you could install a one-way mirror room and back door into every household in the country, and staff them all with analysts who will secretly observe people in their homes 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. People would think you were crazy. In fact, I bet most people today would be completely against that idea, yet wouldn't realize that what companies like Google and Amazon are doing today is effectively the same thing, except _much more_ invasive.