In recent years, the European Union has stepped up the fight to protect its borders from terrorism and other security risks, approving measures that utilise AI tech such as the shared ETIAS Visa Waiver for Schengen Area countries. Now, to continue the progress made, the EU is trailing artificial intelligence lie detectors called iBorderCtrl.
The technology has already been installed in EU border airports in Greece, Hungary, and Latvia. Although not the technology has not yet been rolled out on a large scale, it is expected that a number of other member states could soon adopt the EU lie detector in their airports.
On this page, travellers can uncover how the new AI lie detectors for the EU work and if they can be trusted. They can also learn about the variety of other AI technologies being used to boost Security and strengthen Europe’s borders.
How will the AI lie detectors work?
Travellers arriving from outside the European Union to an EU border airport will soon be required to pass through the AI lie detector machines before admission to their country of destination. The technology consists of a display on which a computer-animated border guard will appear, matching the traveller’s gender, ethnicity, and language.
The automated official will ask a series of security questions, to which the traveller will need to respond while directly addressing a webcam which analyzes every small facial movement. After answering questions, including some about the contents of their luggage, the machine will then decide if the entrant is lying or not.
Travellers coming from outside the EU will also be required to scan copies of their passport, visa, and proof of funds. They will also be pre-screened and tagged as either low or high-risk before facing the EU border lie detector, with ‘high risk’ visitors then more thoroughly checked.
Human border officials will still maintain a presence alongside the AI lie detectors, using portable devices to verify the information and compare passport and any previously-held photos with those taken by the EU lie detector technology.
Can you trust lie detectors at the EU borders?
Lie detection is widely used in law enforcement in the USA, despite doubts over its reliability. For example, polygraph tests are not admissible as court evidence in the vast majority of jurisdictions because the nerves of the subject can greatly affect the result.
The new AI lie detector technology is considered to be far more reliable than a polygraph test, with EU authorities estimating that the machines have a rate of accuracy of around 76%, which is hoped to increase to roughly 85%.
However, the announcement of the trail system has already attracted its fair share of criticism. Some experts have called the new EU AI lie detector technology pseudoscience and many believe the system could deliver unfair outcomes.
Bruno Verschuere, a senior lecturer in forensic psychology at the University of Amsterdam, has publicly expressed doubt about the scientific credibility of the machines. Verschuere has argued that the assumption that liars become stressed is largely unsubstantiated, and micro-expressions or fidgeting are not always sure signs.
Nevertheless, the developers of the technology have defended its credibility, arguing that the process is legitimate because various other factors help to provide the analysis of the traveller, not only the AI technology. Therefore, those arriving in Europe with ETIAS once it is implemented will no doubt get to experience the EU border lie detectors for themselves.
EU Attitudes to using AI Technology in Strengthening Security
The European Union first adopted a forward-looking attitude towards AI technology in 2007, when the EU Council called for AI to be recognised as an emerging trend.
However they also wanted to ensure that the technology would be held to ‘high levels of data protection, digital rights and ethical standards’.
Since then, an approach to regulating AI in Europe has gradually developed, culminating in a proposal for harmonised rules regarding AI use in April 2021.
In recent years, the European Commission has been supporting eu-LISA (The European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice) and Eurojust's efforts to prepare for digital judicial cooperation.
These include numerous Al-based solutions including the lie-detector machines at EU borders, among a number of other recently.developed measures.
Other AI technology systems used by the EU
The European Parliament supports efforts to make the best use of emerging technologies to strengthen the EU’s external borders.
Although the lie detector technology is only in use at selected airports at present, the EU has now adopted AI facial recognition systems in most of its centralized databases.
These allow border officers to compare a facial image of a traveler taken at the border with an image already stored in a database. In this way, they can confirm the traveller’s identity.
Among others, this applies to the Schengen Information System (SIS), which allows officers to check whether a traveller is considered a security threat. If this is they case, they will recieve an alert, which in many cases will include a facial image.
Several EU agencies are also developing AI tools to predict migration flows. The EU Agency for Asylum uses an AI system that analyses data on conflict and disruptive events around the world to predict migration trends.
Using this data, the European Asylum Support Office is able to predict whether arrivals of third-country nationals may exert particular pressure on national asylum and reception authorities.
AI tech is als being used to help uncover identity fraud, which is becoming increasingly difficult to detect. It can also be useful in helping to facilitate the identification of missing or abducted individuals.
Protecting fundamental rights within the EU use of AI Technology
The European Parliament is making use of an increasing amount of AI technology in their border protection measures However, they are being careful to put appropriate safeguards in place to protect fundamental rights.
These include the right to privacy and non-discrimination. In particular, although face recognition systems do not aim to classify people based on ethnicity, there have been concerns that they could lead to unlawful ethnic profiling.
Additionally, as msot AI systems are based on non-diverse collections of data, the accuracy of the reading can vary depending on a person’s ethnicity. This flaw is particularly glaring in the use of emotion detection systems such as the AI lie detector.
There is still a debate as to whether these systems can accurately identify facial expression, especially in non-dominant cultures and certain contexts. And there is even greater doubt whether they can match identified expressions to specific emotions.
For this reason, the EU is holding back on a large-scale rollout of technologies such as the face detectors until it can be sure that the technology develops to show a high rate of accuracy.
ETIAS to strengthen the EU's borders
Alongside the introduction of the EU border lie detector and othetr Artifical Intelliegence Stsyems to improve security in Europe, the European Parliament has approved a proposal to implement a travel authorization system for the 27 Schengen Area member states.
Much like the ESTA system in the United States, the ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) will pre-screen foreign visitors before arrival in Europe, allowing any public safety threats to be identified.
The visa waiver for ETIAS countries is due to come into effect by 2026. From then, citizens from more than 50 eligible nations will be expected to complete the quick and simple ETIAS Application online before tourism or business travel to the Schengen Area.
The ETIAS for Europe is a multiple-entry visa waiver valid for 3 years or until the corresponding passport expires. It permits the holder various 90-day stays within a 180-day period in any Schengen country, with free travel between member states also allowed.
The ETIAS requirements involve having a passport from an eligible country with a minimum validity of 3 months past the intended departure date from the Schengen Area, as well as a valid debit or credit card to pay the ETIAS fee and a current email address at which to receive the approved visa.
Processing of the ETIAS will be relatively fast, with an average approval time of between 24-48 hours. Upon approval, the ETIAS is electronically linked to the applicant’s passport, which EU border officers will be able to view on their systems. Depending on the airport of their arrival, travellers with ETIAS will also have to pass through the AI lie detectors at EU borders.
