Hand-held Lie Detectors?

[MattusMaximus]

I just read this story on MSNBC...

New anti-terror weapon: Hand-held lie detector


I had always thought that polygraphs were basically untrustworthy. Isn't that why many states don't allow results from lie detectors into testimony in court cases?

I know it's supposed to be used in Afghanistan, but how long until it gets to the U.S. The thought that now we're going to have hand-held versions of a useless and invasive device like this makes me laugh and cry at the same time.

 

[ImaginalDisc]

I just read this story on MSNBC...

New anti-terror weapon: Hand-held lie detector


I had always thought that polygraphs were basically untrustworthy. Isn't that why many states don't allow results from lie detectors into testimony in court cases?

I know it's supposed to be used in Afghanistan, but how long until it gets to the U.S. The thought that now we're going to have hand-held versions of a useless and invasive device like this makes me laugh and cry at the same time.

I think this is the sort of situation in which no one wins. Do the soldiers, sailors, and marines on the ground who must make life and death decisions benefit from having such a useless device? Do the locals who get examined with it benefit? Does anyone?

 

[MattusMaximus]

I think this is the sort of situation in which no one wins. Do the soldiers, sailors, and marines on the ground who must make life and death decisions benefit from having such a useless device? Do the locals who get examined with it benefit? Does anyone?

It seems to me that the people marketing and selling the device benefit, plus maybe some politicians who can crow about how we're "helping the troops", but not much of anyone else.

 

[ImaginalDisc]

According to the article, the device was tested by three different groups. Here's a snippet from the Johns-Hopkins test.

For every 100 deceptive people, the researchers reported, the device would detect 86 (red), with two false negatives (green) and 12 uncertain (yellow).

For every 100 truthful people, they said, it would detect 50 (green), with eight false positives (red) and 42 uncertain (yellow).

I wonder if any of the subjects were well versed in the techniques developed to make lie detectors even less reliable, such as changing one's breathing deliberately, and lying on calibration questions, for example.