Original reporting and commentary about polygraphs, voice stress analyzers, and other purported "lie detectors."
Intercept investigative reporter Daniel Boguslaw reports on lobbying efforts by Converus Inc., which is attempting to market its EyeDetect “lie detector” to the federal government. Converus claims that EyeDetect is 88 to 90 percent accurate, a claim that is not supported by any independent peer-reviewed research. Excerpt: Read the rest of the story here. Data …
It is with deep sadness that we report that longtime polygraph critic Douglas Gene Williams died on Friday, 19 March 2021, after an illness. He has been cremated. Williams, a former polygraph operator with the Oklahoma City Police Department, quit his job in 1979 and began publicly campaigning for the abolishment of polygraphy from the …
In “An Eye-Scanning Lie Detector Is Forging a Dystopian Future,” Wired science writer Mark Harris investigates “EyeDetect,” a new scientifically unproven lie detector being hawked as a replacement for the old scientifically unproven polygraph. Converus Inc. of Lehi, Utah, which markets EyeDetect, claims without proof that it can detect lies with 86% accuracy. Mark Harris …
It is with deep sadness that we report that retired FBI scientist and supervisory special agent Dr. Drew C. Richardson, who has for many years been a friend and mentor to AntiPolygraph.org’s co-founders, was killed in a tragic accident at his home in Greenville, Virginia on Thursday, 21 July 2016. He was 65 years old. …
In June 2014, I suggested Surespot Encrypted Messenger to visitors to AntiPolygraph.org as a secure means of contacting me, and I’ve been including my Surespot address (georgemaschke) in my signature block on message board posts and e-mails, as well as on AntiPolygraph.org’s contact page. Now I’m not so sure about Surespot. I fear the developer …
AntiPolygraph.org has received a previously unpublished report of investigation (934 kb PDF) by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Privacy Office into an information-sharing program operated by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Internal Affairs (CBP IA), headed by CBP Assistant Commissioner James F. Tomsheck. ((Tomsheck’s office appears to be the lead agency …
You’ve heard of the polygraph. Now the US Government is seeking to develop a “smellograph.” UPI Homeland and National Security Editor Shaun Waterman reports that the Department of Homeland Security is funding a “proof of concept” study into whether odors emitted by the human body can be used to determine whether a person is lying: …
Neuroscientist Sam Harris answers the Edge Foundation’s annual question for 2009, “What game-changing scientific ideas and developments do you expect to live to see?” with a commentary titled “True Lie Detection.” Excerpt: When evaluating the social cost of deception, one must consider all of the misdeeds — marital infidelities, Ponzi schemes, premeditated murders, terrorist atrocities, …
Jenifer Johnston reports for the Sunday Herald: THE creator of a new lie detector which scans brainwaves before a subject even speaks has admitted she fears what could happen if it falls into the wrong hands. “We assume that the people asking the questions are going to be noble and working for something that is …
Richard Willing reports for USA Today. Excerpt: PHILADELPHIA — In a quiet corner of the University of Pennsylvania campus, professor Britton Chance is using near-infrared light to peek at lies as they form in the brains of student volunteers. Eventually, Chance hopes to see something else: a day when a device like his replaces the …