Israeli Innovation: Airport Lie Detectors
Excerpt:
“According to Nemesysco’s CEO, Amir Lieberman, the system would not err when dealing with people who are naturally under pressure as they board their flights and would not mistake them for terrorists or drug dealers. The system has also been installed at banks and insurance companies in Britain in order to detect fraud attempts.”
Commentary:
I don’t care how many rationalizations the manufacturer makes to sell his technology; How many innocent people are going to be harrassed, prevented from making their flights, treated like terrorists because they are nervous, figiting out of fear of flying, accompanying a dead body to Eretz Yisrael, person concerns, family concerns, etc.?
At what point does “security” cross over red lines and no longer override sensitivity, understanding and compassion?
For instance, last fall I was in Chutz L’Aretz for the first time in 5 1/2 years. The differences between March 1999 and Nov., 2004 were stark;
1/ Profiling one who only has a one-way ticket on an airline such that they have to submit to total baggage search.
2/ A specific example; A sandwich was made for me where I was staying which somehow didn’t make it to my hands. I left my host’s home that day for a flight to a different destination.
At the airport, I was paged as my host ran to the airport to give me the sandwich. Airport security would not let her just pass the sandwich to me, but I would be subjected to having to go out from my gate where I awaited my flight’s arrival and would have get back in line to re-process in with my carry-ons in order for security to feed the sandwich through x-ray. This happened with about 45 minutes remaining before my flight was scheduled to take off. There was no gray area, only black or white, no sensitivity, understanding and compassion on the part of security people who have subordinated their brains, their thought prcesses, analytical skills and common sense to a machine or computer. I was kind of upset and agitated out of concern about possibly missing my flight. Perhaps today, with this technology, in the same circumstances I might be profiled and pulled out as if a terrorist, missed my flight, been arrested, etc. unjustly.
I’m sure that there are gazillion innocent gray area situations. But a technology like this, in the hands of the dumbed-down who have no instincts for people, who have become dumbed down and subordinated their thought prcesses, analytical skils and common sense to a machine is dangerous to say the least. Finally, this technology, in the hands of officials and representatives of an evil, dictatorial regime, is highly dangerous to law-abiding citizens who don’t abide by the regime’s political correctness. MB