Legalities of neuroimaging for intelligence interrogation

The most promising of these new technologies is psychiatric neuroimaging, the predominant form of which is functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). FMRI provides near real time, ultra-high resolution, computer-generated models of brain activity. These models allow the operator to observe a subject’s neural response to cognitive or sensory-motor tasks. In essence, fMRI allows the operator to watch the subject’s brain think. This has a number of practical applications. For instance, fMRI could function as a hyper-accurate lie detector. In addition, an interrogator could also assess a detainee’s response to specific stimuli. For example, an interrogator could present a detainee with pictures of suspected terrorists, or of potential terrorist targets, which would generate certain neural responses if the detainee were familiar with the subjects pictured. U.S. intelligence agencies have been interested in deploying fMRI technology in interrogation for years. It now appears that they can. As Big Brother warned us, “Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concealed forever.”