Mind readingDHS completes tests on mind reading technology

FAST depends on validity of cues // Source: neoseeker.com

DHS officials recently completed an initial round of tests for its new intent detecting technology. With the Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST) program, DHS hopes to be able to identify terrorists or criminals before they execute an attack.

FAST relies on remote sensors to measure several physical indicators like heart rate and how frequently one’s eyes flit back and forth. Officials hope that that the sensors will be able to detect intent as passengers walk through an airport. So far the technology has only been tested in a laboratory setting, but DHS says that it has been able to achieve a 70 percent accuracy rate.

John Verrico, a DHS spokesman, said, “The results are still being analyzed, so we cannot yet comment on performance. Since this is an ongoing scientific study, tests will continue throughout coming months.”

In the next battery of tests, officials will examine how FAST fares in more realistic settings.

Tom Ormerod, a psychologist in the Investigative Expertise Unit at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, said, “It is encouraging to see an effort to develop a real empirical base for new technologies before any policy commitments are made.”

But many scientists criticize the program for the dubious science behind it and many question whether there are any real physiological traits that are unique identifiers for individuals seeking to commit an act of terrorism.

In particular, scientists wonder if the system will be able to differentiate between nervous travellers and potential terrorists.

“Even having an iris scan or fingerprint read at immigration is enough to raise the heart rate of most legitimate travellers,” said Ormerod.

Ormerod also questioned the scientific validity of FAST’s lab trials. During the tests, DHS officials had instructed individuals passing through a checkpoint to carry out a “disruptive act.” Ormerod believes that screeners and passengers in the tests behaved differently when they knew they were being tested.

“Fill the place with machines that go ping, and both screeners and passengers start doing things differently,” he said.

Steven Aftergood, a senior research analyst with the Federation of American Scientists, shares Ormerod’s doubts.

Aftergood said that FAST would likely produce a high number of false positives, resulting in the mistaken identification of innocent travellers, thereby making the system ineffective.

“I believe that the premise of this approach — that there is an identifiable physiological signature uniquely associated with malicious intent — is mistaken. To my knowledge, it has not been demonstrated,” Aftergood said.

“The whole thing seems like a charade,” he added.

DHS officials have revealed little about the program and have kept a close hold of information. So far the agency has only said that the initial tests were completed at the end of March and that it would begin field tests at an undisclosed location.