A machine that can read minds?

Well, India thinks it has one. A woman in India was convicted of murder based mainly on evidence from a brain scanner, basically a lie detector on crack. This brain scanning machine is called The Brain Electrical Oscillations Signature test. The test administrator makes short, detailed statements in the first person which recount the crime as it allegedly occurred. The accused is attached to the machine and does not say a single word during the test; his or her brain tells it all for him or her. The machine produces pictures of the brain activity. A higher level of activity in a particular region of the brain means that the person connected to the machine has experienced the statement the test administrator made. Hence, if the test administrator says, “I stabbed John on Tuesday”, and the test taker’s mind becomes very active in a particular area of the brain, it means that the test taker is remembering stabbing John on the day in question.

The U.S. has been researching brain based lie detection in order to use it in counterterrorism investigations. It is thought that this technology will eliminate torture. If we could read minds, harsh interrogation methods will no longer be needed because we will already know what is on the alleged terrorist’s mind.

If brain scans are used in court in the United States, it is thought that numerous amendments to the Constitution may be violated. Hence, this is a highly controversial area. Scientists across the globe are split on whether this technology is accurate. Some believe it to be 97% accurate; others believe that it is completely inaccurate. I am unsure if we will ever know whether it is accurate when used in the criminal prosecution system because criminals will not tell if they lied and actually committed the crime. Therefore, this machine is unable to be tested when it comes to criminals unless there is plenty of other evidence substantiating the crime. However, in that case, the brain scanner’s use will be unnecessary. Oh, what a dilemma.

There needs to be more independent studies conducted on this brain scanner; it needs to be reviewed by more scientists before it will gain credibility in the field of science, and in U.S. Courts. If credible, this brain scanner will transform the legal and counterterrorism fields.