russia

In Russia, the ATMs Tell You If You’re Lying

Russia’s biggest retail bank, Sberbank, is testing an ATM machine with a built-in lie detector that could help prevent consumer credit fraud. In addition to scanning passports, recording fingerprints, and scanning for facial recognition, voice-analysis software created by researchers at the Speech Technology Center can detect lying. The technology was developed in part by sampling databases of recorded voices lying during police interrogations, and can sense nervousness or emotional distress — largely involuntary responses. But isn’t this kind of risky and, uh, invasive? Sberbank says no. “We are not violating a client’s privacy,” said Victor M. Orlovsky, a senior vice-president for technology at the bank. “We are not climbing into the client’s brain. We aren’t invading their personal lives. We are just trying to find out if they are telling the truth. I don’t see any reason to be alarmed.”

A Russian A.T.M. With an Ear for the Truth [NYT]

In Russia, the ATMs Tell You If You’re Lying