S-36. Telling the Truth

Voice 1

Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Liz Waid.

Voice 2

And I'm Marina Santee. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 3

'I bought poison. I met him at McDonalds.'

Voice 1

A police station in Pune, India. Officers are investigating a murder. They believe that Aditi Sharma gave poison to her former boyfriend - and killed him. An officer reads out some statements. They describe how the police think the murder happened. They have placed a special covering on her head. There are 32 electrodes attached to it. These electrodes carry electrical messages from the brain to the machine. But Aditi does not say anything. She does not need to. The machine shows how Aditi's brain reacts. It is 'reading' her brain.

Voice 2

Today's Spotlight is on telling the truth. Can technology force people to tell the truth? Is it possible to never lie at all?

Voice 1

In June 2008, Aditi Sharma was found guilty of murdering her former boyfriend Udit Bharati. It was the first time in the world that brain-reading technology had been used as evidence in a trial.

Voice 2

The machine showed that Aditi remembered the events of the murder. The judge decided that meant that Aditi must have been involved in the murder. But not everyone thought the judge was right to trust the brain reading machine. Scientists in India did not agree that the machine always produced the correct results.

Voice 1

India is not the only place that has brain reading machines. Some groups in the United States also have similar technology. But these machines work in a different way. The machines measure how blood flows through the brain. A person answers questions while an expert watches the machine. The machine shows which parts of the brain the person is using. So experts can work out if the person was lying, or telling the truth. People who have been accused of lying can pay to use the machine. It can help to show if the person is being honest.

Voice 2

This may sound like something out of a story book about the future. In fact, one writer wrote about such a machine not very long ago. In 1996, James Halperin wrote a book called 'The Truth Machine'. It described a machine that shows if people are telling the truth. Halperin is surprised at how quickly his ideas about the future have become true. He spoke to the website, Reason Online, about brain reading technology. He said,

Voice 4

'It is happening much faster than I thought it would. I was talking about the idea of a truth machine back in the 1990s. I had a friend who was a brain scientist. He told me that it would take fifty years, if ever, before such a thing could be created. I chose the year 2024 as the date. This was so the idea would not seem too insane.'

Voice 1

Some people are now worried about the use of brain reading technology. They say that using such a machine would be morally wrong. They say people's thoughts should be their own. It should not be legal for anyone to read the thoughts and memories of other people. This could affect a person's basic freedom. However, other people say that the technology could be used in good ways. The machine could stop criminals from lying to police. It could also mean that no one will ever be tortured again.

Voice 2

The technology is still not completely established. Many experts still think it needs better testing before it can be used for important matters. But what if this machine was used more and more? What would the world be like if we could force everyone to tell truth? Would the world be a better place? Or would a truth machine create too many problems?

Voice 1

Most people believe it is generally wrong to lie. Many religions also teach this. For example, the Christian Bible includes the command "Do not lie about other people". Some of the world's greatest thinkers, or philosophers, have also written about lying. One of these philosophers was Immanuel Kant. He lived in Germany in the eighteenth century. He said that lying was always morally wrong. He believed that something was only good if it could work as a law for everyone. But lying went against this. He said if everyone lied all the time then life would become extremely difficult.

Voice 2

Another philosopher who wrote about lying was Saint Augustine. He was a Christian teacher who lived in the fourth and fifth century. He said,

Voice 3

'It seems to me that every lie is a sin. However, there are different kinds of lies. These depend on the reason and subject of the lie. Someone may lie to try and be helpful. He does not sin as much as someone who lies to be evil.'

Voice 1

However, in some situations it is difficult to avoid telling lies. For example, someone prepare a meal for you. But you do not like it! Is it right to lie to that person? One man facing this issue is Cathal Morrow. He has decided not to lie for a whole year. He wanted to experience the issues created when someone only told the truth. Cathal Morrow is British but lives with his family in Spain. He will finish this truth-telling project in 2009. Before he started the project he said,

Voice 5

'Lying just gets easier. Once you open the door there seems little reason to close it. Thinking about it, I suppose I do lie a little. But I only tell an acceptable number of small lies. I often tell people what I think they would like to hear. This is instead of what I truly think. Do I lie to be liked? To be nice? Because it is easy?'

Voice 2

Cathal Morrow plans to write a book about his year of truth-telling. Many people are already interested in how successful his year will be. For most people, never lying is just too difficult. But for many philosophers and religious leaders, these questions about truth and lies are very important. This is true for Christians, as well. They believe that lying, like other wrong actions, damages the relationship with God, and relationships with other people. As Cathal Morrow said, it is easy to open the door to lies. But it is much more difficult to close it again.

Voice 1

The writer and producer of this programme was Steve Myersco. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. Computer users can find the script to this programme on our website, at http://www.radio.english.net. This programme is called, "Telling the Truth". Thank you for listening, goodbye.