Peter Boogaard, the deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, provided a statement to CNET that said:

The department’s Science and Technology Directorate has conducted preliminary research in operational settings to determine the feasibility of using non-invasive physiological and behavioral sensor technology and observational techniques to detect signs of stress, which are often associated with intent to do harm. The FAST program is only in the preliminary stages of research and there are no plans for acquiring or deploying this type of technology at this time.

FAST is designed to track and monitor, among other inputs, body movements, voice pitch changes, prosody changes (alterations in the rhythm and intonation of speech), eye movements, body heat changes, and breathing patterns. Occupation and age are also considered. A government source told CNET that blink rate and pupil variation are measured too.

It’s currently being tested for “feasibility.”  It’s not clear what the criteria for feasibility might be, given that it’s purpose is to determine malevolent intent that has yet to manifest in action.  The subjects of testing are voluntary employees of DHS, as they are of the view that the public might object to being unwitting guinea pigs. 

They’re no doubt right about that, but then, using DHS personnel to ascertain the feasibility of determining malevolent intent seems too obvious for words.  And too easy for jokes.

This idea has been percolating since about 2007, but it’s now gone from a twinkle in Michael Chertoff’s eye to ground level testing.  As hard as I try, I can’t muster a sincere belief that anyone in a position of power in government won’t want to make this happen.  There will be academics trotted out to explain why it works, why no innocent will ever be harmed, even though its purpose is to anticipate crime, thus precluding by definition proof of efficacy.  There will be a whole lot of backslapping along the beltway, as well as the hallways of academia. 

And don’t neglect the public’s support for this concept, even if things didn’t work out really well in the movies.  Safety first, the fearful mothers cry.  And if it’s your baby who happens to be caught up in the whir of prosody, then no doubt he deserved it.  Only then will it dawn on you that he hasn’t done anything wrong. Yet.

The truth is that people think evil thoughts sometimes.  Even good people.  Even nice people.  We may not always be proud of the thoughts we have, but we’re human, and we sometimes think bad things.  Whether we act on them is another matter, as relatively few of us do.  Will FAST work at all?  Will FAST distinguish between the occasional evil thought and those who are inclined to put evil thoughts into action?  Will anybody in our government, the one that exists at the will of the people, say out loud, “this is nuts, What the hell are we doing?”

By the time we find out, chances are it will be too late.  The Department of Homeland Security will have expended many billions to rollout the newest, coolest, shiniest technology ever to protect us from evil.  And it will work perfectly, as the spokesman will assure us.  Nothing could go wrong with this idea.