Lie detection systems go high-tech - 28th March 2022

Researchers at an Israeli university have developed a new method of lie detection. Professors Yael Hanein and Dino Levy, together with their team at Tel Aviv University, created sophisticated technology to determine if someone is lying.

Two types of liars have been identified: those who move their eyebrows involuntarily when they tell an untruth, and those making a barely perceptible lip movement. Their software and its algorithm can now detect 73 percent of lies, and the experts intend to build on that as they develop the system.

Hanein explained the process that underpins people's attempts to lie: "When you try to conceal a lie, one of the things you try to avoid is any sort of body reaction."

Speaking about their new approach, Levy added: "But it's very, very hard for you to conceal a lie with this technology."

Early methods of lie detection took the form of polygraph tests. The most well-known is the analogue polygraph, which typically has three or four pens that dance round on a strip of paper. The suspect has sensors attached to their fingers, arms and body. The machine then monitors breathing rate, pulse, blood pressure and perspiration as they're questioned.

However, given serious concerns about the accuracy of polygraphs, researchers and technology firms around the world have been seeking out high-tech alternatives. The Tel Aviv researchers anticipate that their sensors will eventually be replaced by video cameras and by software which is able to spot a liar from some distance.

Professor Levy forecasts that "in the bank, in police interrogations, at the airport or online job interviews, high-resolution cameras trained to identify movements of facial muscles will be able to tell truthful statements from lies."