PSYCHOLOGISTS call them “wizards of deception”: those rare individuals with a natural ability to tell with complete confidence whether someone is lying. For decades, researchers and law enforcement agencies have tried to build a machine that will do the same thing. Now claims it has succeeded, and that using fMRI brain scans it can determine with 97 per cent accuracy whether someone is speaking the truth. It hopes the technology will be cleared for use in a US courtroom by early next year (see “Brainscans prepare to enter the courtroom”).
You will not find many neuroscientists…
