RESEARCH · RESEARCH · #1029
Pentagon requests $30.3M to develop AI-powered 'Polygraph+' lie detector
The Department of Defense has requested $30.3 million over five years for a program called "Polygraph+" (or "Polygraph Next") to develop AI/ML scoring algorithms and non-contact 'standoff sensing' for credibility assessment; the program would be run by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency and the budget request has not been approved by Congress. The initiative follows DIU prototype work involving Presage Technologies and Altec Research, but it revives longstanding scientific and fairness concerns about the validity and potential biases of polygraph-style deception detection.
KEY POINTS
- The Department of Defense has requested $30.3 million over five years for a program called "Polygraph+" (or "Polygraph Next") to develop AI/ML scoring algorithms and non-contact 'standoff sensing' for credibility assessment; the program would be run by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency and the budget request has not been approved by Congress.
- The initiative follows DIU prototype work involving Presage Technologies and Altec Research, but it revives longstanding scientific and fairness concerns about the validity and potential biases of polygraph-style deception detection.
- The project could expand use of AI-driven physiological surveillance in federal vetting and insider-threat screening despite weak evidence of reliability and risks of false positives and bias.
WHY IT MATTERS
The project could expand use of AI-driven physiological surveillance in federal vetting and insider-threat screening despite weak evidence of reliability and risks of false positives and bias.