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from the just-check-if-they-are-horizontal dept.
PsychCentral has a decent summary of a recent software-based effort from University of Michigan to discover who's lying and who's not.
By carefully observing people telling lies during high-stakes court cases, researchers at the University of Michigan are developing unique lie-detecting software based on real-world data.
Their lie-detecting model considers both the person's words and gestures, and unlike a polygraph, it doesn't need to touch the speaker in order to work.
In experiments, the prototype was up to 75 percent accurate in identifying who was telling a lie (as defined by trial outcomes), compared with humans' scores of just above 50 percent. The tool might be helpful one day for security agents, juries, and even mental health professionals.
To develop the software, the researchers used machine-learning techniques to train it on a set of 120 video clips from media coverage of actual trials. Some of the clips they used were from the website of The Innocence Project, a national organization that works to exonerate the wrongfully convicted.
[More after the break.]
Researchers found that the people who were lying had a number of distinctive tells. They moved their hands more, scowled or grimaced, said "um" more frequently, and attempted to create a sense of distance between themselves and their alleged crime or civil misbehavior by using words like "he" or "she" rather than "I" or "we." Even more interesting, liars tended to make a greater effort at sounding sure of themselves — not only would they feign confidence, but they would also look the questioner in the eye, perhaps attempting to establish believability.
"In laboratory experiments, it's difficult to create a setting that motivates people to truly lie. The stakes are not high enough,...We can offer a reward if people can lie well — pay them to convince another person that something false is true. But in the real world there is true motivation to deceive. People are poor lie detectors. This isn't the kind of task we're naturally good at. There are clues that humans give naturally when they are being deceptive, but we're not paying close enough attention to pick them up."
"It was 75 percent accurate in identifying who was lying. That's much better than humans, who did just better than a coin-flip."
"The system might one day be a helpful tool for security agents, juries and even mental health professionals."
I have to imagine this is a child's game compared to what Three Letter Agencies have developed.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 13 2015, @10:57PM
I am willing to give everyone that upmods this post up to one million dollars USD.
Does anyone really believe the outcomes of legal trials are an appropriate measure of truth and lying?
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Sunday December 13 2015, @11:13PM
Anonymous is going to give me a million bucks for upmodding him? Good one.
Upmodded anyway, because he's right. The fact that a person is convicted generally makes us distrust him. But, facts are facts - a lot of honest men have been convicted in spite of the evidence. His conviction doesn't prove that he was lying, it only proves that the cops and the court had the power to put him away.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 14 2015, @12:15AM
Whooooooosh
(Score: 1) by anubi on Monday December 14 2015, @05:14AM
Uh-huh. Didn't cha see the businesstalk? "Up-to".
That is one of the first business phrases I look for to tip me off as to whether or not I am dealing with a trustworthy business.
I see a lot of businesstalk like that and I know I am fixing to get screwed. Best pass on it.
Its kinda like me saying "I'll show up for work when I feel like it!" in a job interview. By saying something like that, I have already told that prospective employer the kind of relationship he can expect. "Up-to" is the businesslike way for a business to tell their prospective customer the same thing.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday December 14 2015, @12:42AM
I'd like my small gift of a million dollars plz
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