IN JULY this year, The Times of India triumphantly announced that two people had been found guilty of murder, based largely on evidence provided by a brain-scanning technique known as brain electrical oscillations signature (BEOS) profiling. According to the report, the state police of Maharashtra “can now bank on a forensic tool to achieve speedy convictions”.
I choose the following words carefully: the utter irresponsibility involved here, and its attendant outrage of justice, is staggering. It is yet another example of how technology is increasingly misapplied and abused, and represents a major threat to civil liberties.
BEOS profiling is a…
