The future of surveillance is hidden in airport ads

Public anonymity is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Coming soon to an airport in Dubai is an artsy, colorful video security and customs tunnel that scans your face, adds you to a database, indexes you with artificial intelligence, and decides if you're free to leave -- or not. By the end of summer 2018, Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3 will have replaced its security clearance counter with a walkway tunnel filled with 80 face-scanning cameras disguised as a distracting immersive video. Travellers' eyes will roam the enclosed tunnel and its virtual shimmering aquarium as they head to their gate, while their biometric data is seamlessly collected, compared, and stored .... somewhere, under unknown terms and conditions. According to officials presenting the security and customs tunnel at the 37th Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) Technology Week at the World Trade Centre in Dubai, its video shows will not be limited to chicken of the sea.