Technology is great, isn't it? You might want to wait up before you answer that question. A company called Trustech (www.truster.com) might be making your life a little more complicated than it already is. It is reported that the company is going to be issuing software to customer service reps that will detect lies in your voice. It analyzes the stress level of your diction, and based on that, decides whether or not you're being honest.

This puts a little different paint job on things doesn't it? You could call in to a company with a complaint, and if you embellish a little on your complaint, they will think you are lying. You could tell them that you paid $50 dollars for the product, when in reality you paid $46, and suddenly you're deemed a liar. What if the charity organization calls you and asks for a donation......will you think twice before saying you don't have enough money to donate?

Trustech also has a similar product for the home as well. If your spouse calls you to say he's caught in traffic, and the software says he's lying...How will you react? What if he's not really caught in traffic, but instead he's buying you an anniversary gift that he doesn't want you to know about? Are you going to flip out on him when he comes home thinking he's having an affair?

Am I alone here in thinking that a line may have been crossed? Have any tests been performed on this to prove it's effective? Since when do we need to be screened for lies if a crime is not involved? Even in a court of law the lie detector isn't recognized as 100% effective. If you tell a blind date on the phone that you're 6' tall, when in reality you're 5'11", is she going to think you're an evil person? Imagine the conclusions and stereotypes that are going to be laid upon you if this becomes a widely used product.

What if you call into work as being sick, when in reality you have a proctologist, or an OB/GYN appointment that doesn't need any more attention drawn to it than is necessary. Are you going to lose your job over this?

You're probably thinking there are laws against this kind of thing. Guess what, there isn't. They don't have to tell you if you're being analyzed, nor does it matter if they use test data to make a decision, or an assumption about you. You've lost your job because you had a proctologist appointment that you wanted to keep private.

Everywhere we go data is being collected. Ever get those annoying survey calls at dinner time that want to know how many times a day you urinate, and if you pick your nose or not? Now it appears that data will be collected from you just by answering a phone call.

What worries me more is how this software works if you've had a rough day. The wife left you, 3 checks bounced, and you're $5000 in debt, and your credit card company calls to ask if you've sent payment.....you sent it two days ago, and tell them that, but the software detects the stress in your voice, has your credit line just decreased? Have you lost your credit card?

So what can be done to stop this total invasion of privacy?? Not much it would seem.... But I've found one solution I'll resort to if I have to...You know those little bull-horns that kids have that will alter your voice???.....I'll speak through one of those before I let people make assumptions about be based on my tone of voice. I hope they don't upset me, and make me yell at them.....the stress level in my voice might make them think that the obscenities I'm screaming at them are lies...then they would think I actually like them, and I wouldn't want that....






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