Israeli researchers have developed a lie-detecting software that can determine someone is not being truthful based on the individual's facial movements rather than physiological responses.
Currently the most common tool used to determine whether someone is lying is polygraph, a lie detector device that measures a number of different bodily responses such as blood pressure, changes in breathing, and sweating on the palms. It is well-known, however, that people can deceive the test by controlling their physiological responses.
“There is no way to tell if someone is lying 100 percent. However, there is increasing stress associated with lying,” Dr. Kamila Forkosh Lavan said. “This is why polygraph tests are not admissible as evidence in a court of law,” said Lavan, who has a Ph.D. in psychology.
Such potential led a team of Israeli researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) to figure out how to use wearable electrodes to better detect a liar. They measured people when lying and telling the truth, using that information of the face to build a model based on machine learning.
“We can capture muscle movements, big or small, eye movements, and even brain activity,” Prof. Yael Hanein at the Center of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at TAU said.
Associate Professor at the Coller School of Management at TAU Prof. Dino Levy added the technology “can correctly detect when people are lying 73 percent of the time.”
The researchers said, however, the technology won’t be ready for another three to five years. The team, nevertheless, hopes to soon reach a point where they can understand when people are lying simply through video.
“We could use any camera that is out there to understand when people are lying or not. Zoom interviews, when you get a loan, at the airport, that would be the real breakthrough,” Levy said.