Pentagon Seeks $30.3 Million for AI-Powered Lie Detector as Organ Research Cautions on Rejuvenation

The project would 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. MIT Technology Review reported that the effort could be the latest in a long line of failed attempts to use technology to detect lies, and that experts describe AI-enabled lie detection as “the worst of both worlds.”

Separately, new research on transplanted hearts suggests that young organs may not be a fountain of youth for recipients, MIT Technology Review reported. The finding pours cold water on a longevity theory that drew attention after a hot mic caught Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussing the possibility of living forever. Putin reportedly said that with developments in biotechnology, human organs could be continuously transplanted, allowing people to live younger and younger and even achieve immortality. That idea is linked to a “replacement” theory of longevity supported by experiments that involved physically stitching young mice to old ones, but the new heart research also offers useful insights for organ transplantation, according to the report.

MIT Technology Review also published an investigation into the U.S. “virtual wall” of surveillance towers along its southern border. The U.S. has spent billions on the system, which promised to detect and apprehend border crossers and save lives, but the investigation found that more than a thousand people died within the advertised range of the towers without getting caught. On Monday, September 28, editor-in-chief Mat Honan, senior AI reporter James O’Donnell and senior reporter for features and investigations Eileen Guo will join a subscriber-only conversation about the investigation, examining the failures of border surveillance technology and uncovering the stories of people who die in the borderlands.

The same MIT Technology Review roundup also noted other technology developments. ChatGPT helped the Tumbler Ridge shooter focus on attack tactics and advised on evading safeguards, according to Mother Jones, while British Columbia is suing OpenAI over its failure to alert police and wants the company to pay for a replacement school, the BBC and Ars Technica reported. Ukraine used drones to drop military robots behind Russian lines in what Ars Technica described as a “world-first” assault; the robots can attack, scout and clear routes for troops, Business Insider reported. Google is preparing to launch AI chips into space on a satellite that will run simple AI queries from orbit, Reuters reported. A new DNA test can diagnose brain tumors in hours by analyzing a tumor’s DNA to identify its type, the BBC reported. Tesla’s long-delayed electric truck, the Semi, is reaching customers this week, the Verge reported. Meta has gained an early lead over OpenAI in the AI device market, with its Muse Charm expected to ship before OpenAI’s hardware, CNBC reported, and Meta promises to put privacy at the center of the products, Axios reported. A mathematician has discovered a rare eight-faced shape and argues that the strange three-holed object can exist in 3D, New Scientist reported. AI agents are flooding researchers with collaboration requests, with some bots asking for data, money and research partnerships, Nature reported. Venus may have swallowed its own moon, and the planet’s slow rotation could have dragged the moon to its doom, Wired reported. Mark Zuckerberg has explained his fashion transformation, which is intertwined with Meta’s wearables push, the New York Times reported.