Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
No lie: voice stress analysis on iPhone
So here's the thing. If the new iPhone app Agile Lie Detector really works, and I'm fairly convinced it does on some level, do you really want to have something this potentially powerful in your pocket? Do you really want an application that could ruin your marriage, destroy your faith in humanity and wreck your respect for authority, and on top of all that, pay $7.99US for it?Yeah, you do.
I was dying to try this thing out. Truth is, I was skeptical that this app would be anything more than a novelty item.
But I had a serious moral dilemma on my hands. What kind of person interrogates his wife and purposely tries to make her cough up lies just so he can test out an app for a blog post?
Me. So I was off, for 15 minutes, asking her question after question, spanning a wide spectrum, none of which I'll get into. Very little of my prodding resulted in anything more than a blip on the Lie Graph. None of my deep, life-altering questions drew a response that warranted much more than a light yellow reading on the Lie Meter. A few other quick tests with other people did show a wider range of results.
The Agile Lie Detector uses voice stress analysis, a somewhat controversial alternative to the traditional polygraph test, to determine whether or not someone is lying. The bad side of this is that it's not considered as accurate as hooking someone up to a machine that measures more than one physiological response, like breathing and pulse. The good side is -- theoretically anyway -- you don't need to be in the same room as the person you are trying to test. In fact, it's possible to analyze speech through speakers, assuming the quality of those speakers is high enough.
To play with this a bit, I searched for video on YouTube that showed people obviously lying (think Clinton's denial of his canoodling with Monica Lewinsky) or obviously under stress (think Sarah Palin talking to Katie Couric). The results of holding my iPhone up to the speaker as these and other videos played showed, in a most unscientific and probably flawed way, a difference, however slight, versus when people not under stress spoke. The very cool part of the application is that it gives you results in real time, so you can see from moment to moment when someone is getting a bit nervous. Theoretically.
If I were the feds, I wouldn't be shipping off a crate of iPhones (liePhones?) to Gitmo quite yet. This application is filed under the Entertainment category in the App Store for a reason. It shouldn't be relied on in serious situations. You know, like asking your wife if she really, truly thinks you look good in that new jacket of yours. However, if voice stress analysis is your bag, definitely give this app a try. I won't lie though. It's a tad pricey.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Harvey said 8:15AM on 12-19-2008
A lie detector of any sort, including this one, cannot detect a falsehood that person believes is true. So if a person truly believes that a certain interpersonal interaction did not constitute a sex act, then if they were asked if they had sex and denied it, that would show up as true. If they were later convinced that that sort of conduct does constitute a sex act, then the same assertion would show up as a lie.
All a lie detector could possibly detect is deception, not falsehood.
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KosherSalt said 10:05AM on 12-19-2008
That's why it's called the "Agile LIE Detector" - not the "Agile TRUTH Detector."
SpinThis! said 11:39AM on 12-19-2008
IF you really want to catch someone in the act of lying, learn a few nonverbal cues, not vocal ones. Most people don't know how to fake body language. eg eye accessing.
Blackstar said 1:19PM on 12-19-2008
I just read everything you typed there into my iPhone using this application and it said you are lying so it must be true.
daneel said 8:18AM on 12-19-2008
been using an app like this for quite a while now called lie detector. it works pretty well but after a few goes i was able to figure out the technique behind it. just think of the question you are being asked as something else. so if you're wife is asking you if you did cheat on her, just convince yourself she's asking about the laundry. if you're convinced its a different question, you don't lie and the detector can't tell the difference.
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Luna Lovegood said 8:19AM on 12-19-2008
"Gitmo"?
Oh! There's a link!
Thanks, TUAW!
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Jon said 8:32AM on 12-19-2008
In the UK they've started using this technology on people who make insurance claims and they're thinking of using it on people who claim benefits. I kid you not.
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DistortedLoop said 9:28AM on 12-19-2008
Just last week, one of those lightweight what's-new-in-science shows on the Discovery Channel had a lightweight demonstration of this technology using much more sophisticated computers than an iPhone, and a trained person interpreting the results. Frankly it wasn't very accurate in telling if the host was being dishonest or not. This doesn't instill much confidence in the technology, especially in the hands of the average geek with an iPhone.
Personally, I don't even trust the results of a traditional lie detector test based on my own personal results of having one used on me, and those of a friend as well:
My friend applied for a job and was hooked to a polygraph. He failed the test when they asked him if he had ever stolen from his employer. If you knew this guy, you'd know he wasn't capable of theft. He challenged the polygrapher to question him further and find out what he had allegedly stolen. They never did, but he got the job anyways.
My own personal experience was much more disturbing. I was accused of a serious crime. The police polygrapher accused me of being dishonest on just one particular question and the cops were convinced I'd done it. A week later, my attorney hired a private polygrapher, and I did not register negatively on the same question, but a new question I did. My attorney even said he could see the emotional response to the question on my face when it was asked. I assure you, I did not do the crime, or anything even close to it. As an anonymous poster here, there's no reason for me to lie about it.
All these technologies do is measure an emotional response to a question. If the question offends you, you will have a response, whether you are being dishonest in the answer or not.
I will never trust a polygraph; and I will never take one again based on my experience.
Still, this app, for $0.99 would have been a fun toy, but $7.99 for a toy that won't be trustworthy, forget it.
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paul six said 11:04AM on 12-19-2008
Your conclusion is actually widely accepted here in Europe, where the authorities don't use lie detectors at all.
I never heard of anybody demanding this "technology" to be used, it's something one only knows from american movies and thinks of it as strange....
Still, the Application might be fun to play with, if only to learn how to better control your own voice and nervousness. I think 8 Dollars is not so expensive.
SpinThis! said 11:30AM on 12-19-2008
What other evidence did they have? A polygraph test afaik wouldn't be enough to implicate you anyway.
DistortedLoop said 1:12PM on 12-19-2008
A witness, who it turned out was lying to protect her ex-husband; it was the ex-husband that actually committed the crime.
Swimatm said 12:02PM on 12-19-2008
No, it shouldn't be relied on at all. These are just estimates and have no guarantee to be accurate. And just so everyone knows, it is impossible to truly detect lies.
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badtzmaru said 1:44PM on 12-19-2008
I just assume everyone is lying. It's easier that way.
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Cameron David said 3:25PM on 12-19-2008
You must be a politician or a businessman...
;)
Mark Kawakami said 4:21PM on 12-19-2008
Wow, a lie detector that's even more inaccurate than a traditional polygraph machine. The truth is, lie detectors are pretty much BS science. The deeper you look into them, the more that the flaws are revealed. A polygraph measures, essentially, discomfort. Being embarrassed about a question or worried that the machine will register a true statement as a falsehood can give a positive, whereas a practiced, rehearsed lie can return a negative. Ultimately, they're only somewhat more accurate than flipping a coin.
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