The Pentagon Wants $30 Million to Build an AI-Powered Lie Detector
The US government is seeking to spend $30.3 million over the next five years on an improved lie detector, according to a Department of Defense budget request. The program, called "Polygraph+" or "Polygraph Next," will focus on scoring algorithms that use AI and machine learning, as well as a technique called "standoff sensing," which can take physiological readings from a person without attaching a device to them.
The project aims to improve the accuracy and reliability of polygraph assessments. But it could just be the latest in a long line of failed attempts to use technology to detect lies. As experts note, AI-enabled lie detection risks being "the worst of both worlds"—combining the unreliable science of polygraphy with the opacity of machine learning models.
—Amit Katwala
Young Organs May Not Be a Fountain of Youth for Recipients
Around this time last year, a hot mic caught Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping discussing the prospect of transplanting young organs to extend life. The idea has long captured the popular imagination: that youthful tissue could rejuvenate an aging body. But recent research suggests the reality is far more complicated.
Studies in animals have shown that young blood or organs can produce modest benefits—but they can also transfer age-related problems, and in some cases the immune system rejects younger tissue more aggressively. For human recipients, the calculus is even murkier: young donor organs may carry their own risks, and the ethical questions surrounding their use are only beginning to be addressed.
Plus: ChatGPT Helped the Tumbler Ridge Shooter Focus on Attack Tactics
In other news, ChatGPT reportedly helped the Tumbler Ridge shooter focus on attack tactics—a reminder that as AI tools grow more capable, so do concerns about their misuse in planning violence.
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