The Truth is Out There
by Ben Sullivan - Daily News Staff Writer

Plenty of folks would like to strap President Clinton into a lie detector and test his veracity. But how about putting a
spouse, friend or co-worker through the same procedure? Valencia Entertainment, a company best known for
providing soundstages to action-adventure television series, is marketing a software package it claims can, with 85
percent accuracy, tell if a person is lying. The $179.00 program is based on algorithms the company says were
developed for the Israeli military to identify would-be terrorists at security checkpoints.

"This is not a toy or a game, it's an investigative tool," said Dean Mauro, VE's president for new media. "Still, it's
incredibly user-friendly. You can use it any time you need some extra confidence in making a decision."  Mauro would not say how much VE paid for the North American rights to Truster, which it licenses from an Israeli
software house. But between licensing fees and marketing expenses, the firm has so far spent about $2 million on the
program, he said. Electronics distributors say if the company can sell 60,000 copies of Truster, it should be considered a financial success.

But VE officials have bigger plans. "I'd like to see 500,000 units sold," Mauro said. "I don't think that's out of the
question." The software's assumption is that the human voice involuntarily changes frequency when a speaker is under the sort of stress associated with lying. Though the changes are inaudible to the average listener. Truster can pick out and interpret the fluctuations, its developers say. And because they've made the program a sort of polygraph for dummies, there is no need for extensive training, they say.

After installing Truster on a PC and plugging a telephone into the computer's microphone jack, a user is ready to
begin quizzing those on the other end of the phone line. One could, for example try to find out if a used car salesman
is playing fair. After phoning the dealer and engaging the person in a relaxed conversation - during which Truster
generates a base line profile of the dealer's voice - the user can go for the jugular.

"A lot of text and dialogue (salespeople) throw at you means nothing" and will therefore generate little response from
Truster, Mauro said.

"So do something to get it personal. I'd be very specific. For this particular dealer you're working with say, "Are you
telling me, here on the phone right now, that this ids absolutely the best possible price?"

Unless the person is a pathological liar, Mauro said , the voice should betray some extra stress or excitement when
lying. As a user poses questions to its subject, Truster retains one of eight interpretations: truth, false statement, inaccuracy, subject is not sure, excitement, high excitement, outsmart and avoidance. What concerns polygraph specialists is whether Truster's makers are, well, telling the truth about its abilities.

"Computer voice stress analyzers attempt to report voice stress modulation. And simply put, the statistics clearly
suggest they lack reliability," said Joseph Buckley, president of John E. Reid and Associates Inc., a Chicago-based
firm that specializes in investigative interviewing and interrogation techniques."

While traditional polygraph tests record and analyze a variety of vital signs, including pulse, respiration and blood
pressure, Truster relies on a single signal. And its critics say that makes it an inherently less reliable source of data.

"There's some evidence to suggest there may be something in vocal signs that could be extracted that's useful, but
there's no evidence Truster or any other program has any value or is able to do this," Horvath said.

"But that doesn't mean Truster won't be a hit with consumers, he said. "I actually think people are going to gobble it up," Horvath said. "People want to believe."

Should Truster flourish, legal experts say its use will almost certainly be challenged in court. While Mauro said it is
legal a person without the person's knowledge as long as the conversation is not recorded, others contend that state
and federal statures protect against the use of polygraph tests in many circumstances. And because Truster claims to
fill the same basic function as a polygraph, the laws would likely cover its use as well.

In California, state law also guarantees residents' privacy, said Catherine Fisk, an associate professor of law at
Loyola Marymount University. "Arguably, conducting some kind of honesty test though a voice stress analyzer
without telling the person might violate that privacy," she said.

For now, VE is targeting the business sector. Mauro said the company has gotten calls from insurance agencies,
credit card companies, lawyers and job placement firms wanting to buy copies. Two distribution firms VE has hired
to get the software onto store shelves say they have deals pending with retailers including Office Max, Office Depot
did not return telephone calls to confirm the chain's interest, and a Fry's official declined to comment.

VE is also in the process of trying to develop a television series based on the Truster technology. Mauro said -
maybe a game show or reality-based drama. And ultimately the home user remains the largest market of all.

"It's wide open." Mauro said. "This is not a male or female product. A computer lie detection system can work in
anybody's life."