Thermal Imaging Lie Detector In Development 183
beaverdownunder writes with this quote from the BBC:
"A sophisticated new camera system can detect lies just by watching our faces as we talk, experts say. The computerized system uses a simple video camera, a high-resolution thermal imaging sensor and a suite of algorithms. ... It successfully discriminates between truth and lies in about two-thirds of cases, said lead researcher Professor Hassan Ugail from Bradford University. ... We give our emotions away in our eye movements, dilated pupils, biting or pressing together our lips, wrinkling our noses, breathing heavily, swallowing, blinking and facial asymmetry. And these are just the visible signs seen by the camera. Even swelling blood vessels around our eyes betray us, and the thermal sensor spots them too."
sounds like ... (Score:5, Interesting)
Deckard: We call it Voight-Kampff for short.
2/3 is still not good enough. (Score:5, Interesting)
All this does is change the rules a bit. All of the things they've listed are things which one could train to do or not do on cue. And even without training if it's only good 2/3 of the time that's not good enough to justify deployment.
Practiced lying can defeat lie detectors... (Score:3, Interesting)
... all you have to do is memorize and rehearse lies in advance and imagine them and recall them as if they were memories. People get caught in lies because it's cognitively demanding to make it up on the spot unprepared.
If you don't believe this consider religious faith. Many people I'm sure believe those falsehoods genuinely because they are well ingrained in their imaginations.
Re:Practiced lying can defeat lie detectors... (Score:2, Interesting)
... all you have to do is memorize and rehearse lies in advance and imagine them and recall them as if they were memories. People get caught in lies because it's cognitively demanding to make it up on the spot unprepared.
If you don't believe this consider religious faith. Many people I'm sure believe those falsehoods genuinely because they are well ingrained in their imaginations.
In which case, it won't be lying anymore, because you genuinely believe it to be true.
In my humble opinion, lying is only useful when you yourself do not believe the falsehood which you're trying to communicate, resulting in a situation of asymmetrical information. It's called deception, and is widely used in counter-intelligence.
Re:Practiced lying can defeat lie detectors... (Score:5, Interesting)
All really good salesmen temporarily believe whatever bullshit they are selling at the time. It's kind of like method acting.
Re:Lie Detectors (Score:4, Interesting)
I suppose it depends on what questions you ask.
It would certainly be open for abuse, but so is a pipe wrench. You could use a 100% accurate lie detector to invade someone's privacy for sure, but if you stuck to questions like "Are you planning on killing anyone today?" or "Did you kill that person?" you'd probably be fine. Especially since you wouldn't actually need to have a person in the room if you had a 100% accurate lie detector. You need a person now because interrogation requires instinct, but with a machine that could actually detect truth or lies and the right questions you could put someone in a room, have the machine ask them a preselected list of questions and then let them out if they're fine.
You couldn't take people out of the equation entirely of course as you'd need them for answering "Why did you kill that person?".
You'd definitely have to be careful about fishing expeditions, and with a much higher solve rate people would be a lot more careful about what they allowed to become law in the first place, but there's nothing inherently unethical about asking someone if they committed or are planning on committing a specific crime and being able to rely on the answer.
I'm with you on this (Score:2, Interesting)
In my subconscious I believe that it doesn't matter what I say, I'll be considered guilty no matter what. As a result, I've taken on a superior attitude towards the interviewers in these circumstances. I have real skills, a real education and a real job. I don't have to work as a rent-a-cop in an airport to support my habits. Yes, it's being an asshole, but I refuse to let people who are working a power trip career that was a result of being a bully and a dick throughout their youth to bully and be a dick to me now that I've worked to get to where I am at. Oddly enough, this seems to keep them from being a dick to me since bullies only bully people when they believe they can win without real resistance. There are thousands of "whimps" waiting in line... why bother with a difficult one.