Abstract
Truster-Pro and the Vericator may sound like devices Wile E. Coyote would order from the Acme Co., but they are real technologies for detecting lies. Unlike the traditional polygraph, which zeroes in on factors such as pulse and breathing rate, these analyzers aim to assess verac ity based solely on speech. Police departments shell out thou sands of dollars on such devices?known collectively as voice stress analyzers?in an attempt to tune in to vocal conse quences of lying. Airports are consid ering versions for security screening purposes, and insurance companies may employ the polygraph alternatives to detect fraud. But beyond their crime-fighting objective, these tools have something less noble in common with their prede cessor: a poor track record in actually telling truth from deception. Scientists evaluating Truster-Pro, the V ricator and newer analyzer models repeatedly report lackluster results. Now research finds that two of the most com monly used voice stress analyzers can discern lies from truth at roughly chance levels ? no better than flipping a coin. Quite frankly, they're bogus. There's no scientific basis whatsoever for them, says John H.L. Hansen, head of the Center for Robust Speech Systems at the University of Texas at Dallas. Law enforcement agencies ? they're spend ing a lot of money on these things. It just doesn't make sense.
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