Sometimes you go to a vending machine in search of Pocket Juicer Stand because you can’t wait to get to the little square gummy bits at the bottom, or on a cold rainy day when you’re hungry but not ready for a full meal, maybe you look for the Corn Potage hot corn soup drink. But let’s face it—sometimes you may not know what you want. Between deciding what to feed yourself for dinner, whether to attend the next port call, and where to spend the holidays, we have to make a lot of choices. Relax—Japan has invented a vending machine to solve all your problems. Stand in front of it and a little camera will focus on your face and predict what you want. Easy! 
I read about these machines in a Reuters article nine months ago before my parents came to visit. We didn’t see any in our jaunts around Tokyo, but recently in Ofuna, then again in Shibuya, these little babies have started cropping up. Hint: they use age and gender profiling! Gasp! For me, it recommended a peace juice and a fruity black tea. Chris’ suggestions were cola products and black coffee—clearly it doesn’t know him at all. The machine thinks the 50+ crowd will want green tea. While waiting for customers the digital touch-screen shimmers between commercials and a product lineup. What I want to know is: does it take my big belly into consideration? Because a machine that could churn out pregnancy cravings—lime juice! French fries! Salad! Crab meat! Coconut pops! Mango!—would really have a following.