The U.S.Department of Homeland Security has revealed an early version of what they hope will be a new tool to spot terrorists, according to a USA Today article. The tool, currently known as Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST), detects a number of physiological characteristics of an individual to determine their level of anxiety, built off the intelligence that those preparing to commit and act of terrorism would have high levels of anxiety.
Among those characteristics detected are pulse rate, breathing patterns and skin temperature. While the characteristics scanned are very much the same detected by a polygraph testing whether or not an individual’s statement is true, the FAST device does so via cameras without any invasive wiring or the individual even being aware of the scan.
Despite the hope that Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration has for this project, many are skeptical of its ability to catch only or even mostly those with bad intent as the characteristics it scans can set off the device for very non-hostile reasons.
Additionally, some feel that this is even more invasive than any other program that has been either put into place or is in testing as it resembles a medical exam more than anything else. The project will continue testing for the next few years as it is labeled a five-year project and is currently in its second year.
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