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What some people regard as invasive computerized tools are changing the way many of us view technology — as well as how technology views us.

In one instance from last week’s news, USA Today reporter Thomas Frank reveals that Homeland Security officials are examining advanced technology that reliably recognizes faces, converting facial characteristics into digital information that can be compared with millions of photos in a database.

While such systems obviously could be useful in identifying suspected terrorists and already are in use in airports and casinos, where they are used to spot cheats and card-counters, critics claim face-recognition systems can be inefficient and invasive. Frank reports that some police departments have abandoned the technology after it failed to yield any arrests. Privacy advocates say the system has enormous potential for abuse, increasing the attractiveness of surveillance cameras and heightening the risk of being tracked even if you are doing nothing wrong.

While the technology is still in its infancy, some related applications are gaining widespread acceptance in law enforcement worldwide. Japan’s National Police Agency is using a type of face-recognition software to identify criminals whose images have been captured on surveillance video. The Tokyo English-language daily Asahi Shimbun reports that a system in place since 2003 has been used in 140 cases to compare photographs of suspects with video from surveillance cameras. The system, now available in major police stations across the country, creates a three-dimensional image of an arrested suspect’s face and allows police and the courts to more closely compare mug shots to images from surveillance cameras. The Japanese system also is programmed to electronically remove obscuring details such as hats or sunglasses, according to the Asahi Shimbun report.

In Australia, police are testing a similar system that will allow police to match faces from security systems with images in a database consisting of photos of convicted criminals, security officials, and gun-permit holders. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the government in one province is considering allowing drivers’ license photos to be added to the database.

And in a related technology ethics story from Canada, a researcher has developed a portable system that will track eye movements of people who view a billboard, electronic screen, or television. The device, reports PC World, will enable advertisers to measure how many people actually look at an ad in a public spot. Critics worry that the technology could be used in a subtly invasive way: to use retinal scanning to identify individual users and pitch personalized ads to them. The company manufacturing the device tells PC World that it has no such plans and that the equipment is not designed to identify individuals.