Pentagon seeks $30.3M for AI-powered lie detector Polygraph+

The US Department of Defense has requested $30.3 million over five years for Polygraph+ (Polygraph Next), a program using AI scoring algorithms and standoff physiological sensing. Run by DCSA, it would be used for employee vetting and insider threat detection; Congress has not yet approved the budget request.

• Budget request: $30.3 million over five years, pending congressional approval
• Focus on AI scoring algorithms and standoff sensing without body-worn sensors
• In 2023 DIU picked Presage Technologies and Altec Research to build prototypes
• Polygraphs date to the 1920s; a 2003 NRC report called the evidence weak