此举正值国防部内部紧张局势加剧之际。在国防部长皮特·海格塞斯的领导下，五角大楼越来越倾向于使用测谎仪测试，试图查明向媒体泄露机密信息的源头。今年9月，《纽约时报》报道称，在有关美国在与伊朗战争中武器储备耗尽的新闻报道出来后，联合参谋部约有50名军官接受了测谎测试。

“Polygraph+”将由负责为联邦政府进行背景调查的国防反情报与安全局（DCSA）运营。根据尚未获得国会批准的预算文件，这项新技术将用于对 prospective 员工进行审查以及“内部威胁检测”。目前尚不清楚将具体使用哪些技术，DCSA也未回应有关更多信息的请求。

但五角大楼的其他举措提供了潜在的线索。2023年，该部门的国防创新单元（DIU）开展了一项公开征集活动，旨在寻找拥有可用于欺骗检测产品的公司。

它选中了两家公司来制造原型机：声称能够使用普通摄像头测量心率和呼吸率的普雷塞奇技术公司（Presage Technologies），以及正拓展至非接触式传感技术的医疗传感器公司阿尔泰克研究公司（Altec Research）。DIU发布的阿尔泰克原型机技术截图显示，该技术可追踪头部运动、面部皮肤温度和毛孔活动。普雷塞奇技术公司和阿尔泰克研究公司均未回应置评请求。DIU也拒绝置评。

阿尔泰克研究公司已开发出一种能够追踪头部运动、面部皮肤温度和毛孔活动的原型机。ALTEC RESEARCH

自20世纪20年代测谎仪发明以来，目前的测谎技术几乎没有变化。检查人员依靠血压、脉搏、呼吸和出汗测量数据来判断某人是否在撒谎。他们根据受访者对基线问题（如“天空是蓝色的吗？”）和目标问题（如“你曾经犯过罪吗？”）的生理反应差异，对其回答的真实性做出判断。

联邦政府在员工筛查过程中每年进行数万次此类测试，但该技术的可靠性屡遭质疑——其结果在法庭上也很少被采纳。1983年，国会技术评估办公室得出结论，认为支持测谎仪用于员工筛查的证据非常有限；2003年，美国国家研究委员会（NRC）表示，其有效性的证据“充其量也很微弱”。

研究表明，在没有技术辅助的情况下，人类识别谎言的正确率略高于50%。美国测谎协会声称测谎的准确率在80%至94%之间。但2003年的NRC报告指出，即使达到如此高的准确率，筛查测试仍可能导致大量错误。国防部雇佣了280万人；这样一个不完美的系统若以该规模应用，最终可能会错误指控数万人。

还存在其他问题。测谎结果的解读往往具有主观性：不同的检查人员得出的结果差异巨大，而少数群体成员更可能被判定为具有欺骗性。此外，经过训练后，受访者可以学习多种反制措施来帮助通过测试；例如，他们可能通过在鞋子里藏一枚图钉来人为增强对基线问题的生理反应。

The move comes at a time of high tension within the department. Under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon has been increasingly turning to polygraph tests in an attempt to find the sources of alleged leaks to the press. In September, the New York Times reported that around 50 officers on the Joint Staff had been given polygraph tests after news coverage reported on the depletion of US weapons stockpiles in the war with Iran.

Polygraph+ will be run by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), which conducts background checks for the federal government. According to the budget document, which has not yet been approved by Congress, the new technology will be used for vetting of prospective employees and “insider threat detection.” It is not yet clear which specific technologies will be used, and the DCSA did not respond to a request for more information.

But other Pentagon efforts offer potential clues. In 2023, the department’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) ran an open submission process to find companies with products that could be used for deception detection.

It selected two companies to build prototypes : Presage Technologies, which claims to be able to measure heart rate and breathing rate using standard cameras, and Altec Research, a medical sensor company now branching out into non-contact sensing technologies. A screenshot of Altec’s prototype technology released by the DIU shows that it tracks head movement, facial skin temperature, and pore activity. Presage Technologies and Altec Research did not respond to requests for comment. The DIU declined to comment.

Altec Research has built a prototype that tracks head movement, facial skin temperature, and pore activity. ALTEC RESEARCH

Current lie detection technology has barely changed since the polygraph was invented in the 1920s . Examiners rely on blood pressure, pulse, breathing, and sweat measurements to determine if someone is lying. They make judgments about the veracity of respondents’ replies on the basis of differences in their physiological response to baseline questions like “Is the sky blue?” and target questions like “Have you ever committed a crime?”

The federal government conducts tens of thousands of the tests each year while screening employees, but the reliability of this technology has been repeatedly challenged—and its results are rarely admissible in court. In 1983, Congress’s Office of Technology Assessment concluded that there was very limited evidence supporting the polygraph’s use for screening employees, and in 2003 , the US National Research Council (NRC) said evidence for its efficacy was “weak at best.”

Research suggests humans can spot a lie just over half the time without any technical assistance. The American Polygraph Association claims the polygraph is between 80% and 94% accurate. But the 2003 NRC report pointed out that a screening test with this level of accuracy could still lead to a lot of mistakes. The DOD employs 2.8 million people; an imperfect system applied at that scale could end up falsely accusing tens of thousands.

There are other issues too. Polygraph interpretations are often subjective: Different examiners get wildly different results , and people from minority groups are more likely to be judged as deceptive. What’s more, with training it’s possible for interviewees to learn a variety of countermeasures that can help beat the test; for example, they may artificially heighten their physiological response to baseline questions by stepping on a pin hidden in their shoe.