Now, a 'persuasive mirror' that reveals how people will age based on lifestyle

Washington, Mar 23 : Want to know what your future holds? Well, then try the 'persuasive mirror', a technology that allows people a glimpse into the future, and it often isn't pretty.

Accenture Technology Labs is developing a digital device called the "persuasive mirror" that can show what your bad habits will do to your face over time.

The user has to answer questions about his lifestyle, upload a digital photo and hope for the best as the mirror digitally ages the person six months down the road.

Although people are aware that cigarettes, alcohol, overeating and sunbathing can be bad for their health, that knowledge isn't always enough to make them give up their bad habits.

The makers of the mirror hope that a peek into the future will change that.

"A picture is worth a thousand warnings," ABC Online quoted Andrew Fano, of Accenture Technology Labs, as saying.

"On the one hand it's to scare you and on the other it's to reward you," he added.

Accenture's persuasive mirror is not on the market yet. Researchers at the University of California at San Diego are studying the mirror's effect on people's behavior.

The study is expected to be out in May, and then Accenture plans to modify the mirror before releasing it to the medical community. The company is relying on the mirror's powers of persuasion.

"A basic mirror is essentially a technology we turn to on a daily basis that does influence our decisions, whether we need to lose weight, what we decide to wear, how we feel about ourselves," Fano said.

ANI