The world’s first voice-based lie detection system has been developed by Russian experts, called RiskControl. The acoustic properties of speech are analyzed by a computer system, which compares the results and determines if the person’s words can be trusted.
With the development of RiskControl, one can use the detection system to verify the accuracy of the responses to questions. The sole stipulation is that they can only be responded to with a simple YES or NO.
The RiskControl asks the participant control questions in the first stage of its operation. As a result, it collects a sample of an emotionally neutral voice reaction when the person tells the truth. All the responses are compared to the sample and are deemed false if there are substantial differences.
According to the Science Director of Fora Digital, Maxim Konobeevsky in his explanation to Izvestia said: “It was surprising for us to find a specific sign of a lie when the test participant says YES, and at the same time the spectrum of frequencies of his voice is the same as when the answer is NO”
A standard computer and a loringophone to record the responses is required in order for the system to work properly. Questions are posed by an electronic voice, which allows for the avoidance of emotional coloration in speech.
risk control automatically evaluates the test findings and delivers a conclusion at the end of the process. According to the developers, the system’s capabilities can be used to choose personnel for responsible positions, as well as in the fields of psychology, medicine, forensics, and other fields.
The detection system reliability has been tested in the Federal Penitentiary Service’s establishments. The system capabilities were utilized to identify drug addiction among the experiment’s participants.
However, according to the head of the practical and experimental psychology laboratory and an associate professor of the Department of General Psychology at the Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis, Yevgeny Khoze said it is immoral to rely solely on the results acquired with the use of such technologies.
“It is unethical to focus only on the results obtained with the help of such systems, and to make a categorical decision on the guilt or innocence of a person in lying without additional methods.”
