The New York Police Department is reportedly in the process of acquiring state-of-the-art facial recognition technology that it will use to scan the faces of drivers commuting to and from New York City, according to the New York Daily News. The acquisition will be handled by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Once in place, the technology will be installed on the nine bridges and tunnels connecting New York City's five boroughs and will be used to scan 800,000 cars per day. The program was announced by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last October as part of a "plan to reimagine New York's bridges and tunnels for the 21st century." The adoption of the technology was noted at the time to be a response to an increasing number of "threats to security" that New York City faces.

Last fall, New York governor Andrew Cuomo laid out a sweeping initiative for the bridges and tunnels of New York City. The "transformational plan," which is part of a larger, $100 billion infrastructure effort for the state, aims to "reimagine New York's crossings" for the 21st century and the future -- a future that, in some aspects, looks to be straight out of Minority Report. The plan calls for the installation of cameras equipped with advanced facial recognition technology in an effort to track everyone entering and exiting the city via the extensive network of tunnels and bridges. Those systems would be implemented in the name of increased security against terror threats, but its potential ramifications for privacy and abuse by law enforcement agencies has experts concerned. Cuomo's initial announcement was light on the details of how such a system might work, how it might be implemented and when.

A pair of Uber technicians will ride inside each of the new self-driving cars offering rides to regular Uber users during an indefinite beta testing phase. On each vehicle, dozens of stationary and spinning cameras collect 1.4 million distance measurements per second, guiding the car on its journey. Beginning today the cars will be deployed on Pittsburgh's streets in a striking experiment by Uber to introduce self-driving technology to its passengers. "For me this is really important," says Anthony Levandowski, the head of Uber's self-driving car team, "because I really believe that the most important things that computers are going to do in the next 10 years is drive cars." Each of Uber's new self-driving, hybrid vehicles being tested on Pittsburgh, Pa., streets is outfitted with dozens of stationary and spinning cameras that watch for braking cars, crossing pedestrians, traffic lights and signage.