Friday, June 24, 2005

Israeli 'lie detector' to be tested in airports

Israelis have come up with a system that can identify air passengers with 'hostile intent' -- ie. potential terrorists -- by getting them to place their hand on a sensor which measures their physiological responses when they answer questions. Because the test is 'objective,' it eliminates the need for racial profiling. The system is 95% accurate and will be tested later in the year in the States.
Now, I'm all for doing whatever it takes to ensure passengers' safety, even relatively painful measures, but I do have one concern:
"Our system makes an initial assessment within three minutes," SDS chief executive officer Shabtai Shoval said. "If the system identifies a suspect, he can be sent to a personal agent to complete the investigation."
Three minutes per passenger!? Better hope you're stuck in a nice airport....

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