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US Government Developing Minority Report-Like Hostility Detector

Posted 09/25/08 at 05:35:54 PM  by Andy Salisbury

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With some news that is sure to surprise absolutely nobody, the Department of Homeland Security is currently in the process of developing a new way to spy on you. The new technology, called “Future Attribute Screening Technology,” or FAST (catchy, huh?) will use crowd-monitoring body sensors that detect individuals’ pulses, body language, breathing rates and facial temperatures to determine threats.

FAST is said to have had accurate results, identifying suspicious behavior in four out of five scenarios. One such scenario, run at a ranch in Maryland involved roughly 140 participants. They were told to walk through FAST’s sensors, with a small group of them instructed to acts uspicious or hostile. The effective accuracy rate of FAST was 78% on mal-intent detection, and 80% on deception.

The Department of Homeland Security is said to still be relatively early in their research, but say it looks very promising.

Criticism comes in the form of John Verdi of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. He states that FAST is “substantially more invasive in airports,” referring to it as a medical exam that the government has no right to conduct. There’s also concern that FAST could improperly identify physical conditions heart murmurs, breathing problems, and high stress levels as threats.

Should FAST be implemented, it might be a common sight at concerts, sporting events and other public gatherings, right alongside the mobile toilets or catering trucks.

Creepy.

Image Credit: Dreamworks Pictures

COMMENTS:2
TAGS: hardware, airports, government, Minority Report, Spying, Spy, Homeland Security
COMMENTS
avatarnext on "Cheaters"

Submitted by Queenof1 on Thu, 09/25/2008 - 5:18pm

FAST could be used to detect your quickening heartrate in anticipation of your illicit ron-day-voo.

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avatarThe issue of How versus What

Submitted by Tenhawk on Thu, 09/25/2008 - 4:02pm

The problem in minority report was never with HOW they got their information, rather it was what they chose to do with it. They had psychic seers predict the future... that's fine, if you can do it somehow, go for it. The problem, however, begins when you act on future events before they happen. In the movie they arrested people for murders they WOULD commit, even to the point of ignoring the slim chance of both a 'minority report' and as the main character in the movie proved, FREE WILL.

Now, in this real world scenario, we're talking about observing people in a public place. Granted, it's some pretty intense observation, but it's still in public environs where you don't have much expectation of privacy. The question I want answered is this : What are they going to DO with the information they gather?

If they intend to say, hey this guy is suspicious, let's watch him and see if he's up to something... Then I don't have much problem with it. This is what patrol officers are supposed to do in critical areas. The technology here is merely an extension of their own senses, and not a huge problem.

The scenario that worries me, however, is if at some point they say "Hey, this guy is acting suspicious. Let's send a couple guards down there, drag him into a back office, and find out what he's up to."

When and if that happens, we will have entered the world of minority report.

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