The borders of Greece, Hungary, and Latvia were being tested with a lie detector. The system looked at a person's face to see if they were lying to a border agent. Almost 20 years of research at Manchester Metropolitan University helped propel the trial.
There was controversy surrounding the trial. Polygraphs and other technologies are unreliable according to psychologists. Errors were reported from iBorderCtrl as well. The project acknowledged on its website that the technology may imply risks for human rights.
The technology underlying iBorder, which was spun out of Manchester MetCtrl, dissolved this month. That is the beginning of the story. Lawyers, activists, and lawmakers want a European Union law to regulate artificial intelligence, which would ban systems that claim to detect human deception in migration. Silent Talker executives were not reachable for comment.
One of the thousands of amendments being considered by officials from EU nations and members of the European Parliament is a ban on artificial intelligence lie detectors. The right to live free from discrimination is one of the fundamental rights that the legislation protects. Some use cases of artificial intelligence are labeled as high-risk and some as low-risk. Human rights groups, trade unions, and companies like Microsoft are lobbying to change the act so that it distinguishes between those who make general-purpose artificial intelligence systems and those who use them for specific purposes.
Last month, advocacy groups including European Digital Rights and the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants called for the act to ban the use of artificial intelligence polygraphs that measure things like eye movement, tone of voice, or facial expression. Statewatch, a civil liberties nonprofit, released an analysis warning that the Artificial Intelligence Act would allow the use of systems like iBorderCtrl, adding to Europe's existing "publicly funded borderai ecosystems." Half of the 341 million in funding for use of artificial intelligence at the border has gone to private companies, according to an analysis.
The Refugee Law Lab's associate director says that the use of artificial intelligence lie detectors on borders creates new immigration policy. She says that you have to prove that you're a refugee and that you're not a liar. Everything is underpinned by that logic. It underpins a lot of the things that are done at borders.
People avoid eye contact with migration officials for a variety of reasons, including culture, religion, or trauma, but sometimes it is seen as a sign that a person is hiding something. Humans often struggle with cross-cultural communication, so why would people think a machine can do better?
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