---
title: "The Pentagon wants $30 million to build an AI-powered lie detector"
description: "The US government wants to spend $30.3 million over the next five years on an improved form of lie detector, according to a Department of Defense budget request. The program, called Polygraph+ or Polygraph Next, will focus on scoring algorithms that use artificial intelligence and machine learning and on a technique called “standoff sensing,” which…"
author: "Amit Katwala"
section: ai-tech
published: 2026-10-06T13:33:10.646765+00:00
canonical: https://valorandventures.media/article/171bd31b-3229-4d37-88cb-854cfa083038
publisher: "Valor & Ventures Media"
source: "MIT Technology Review"
source_url: https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/25/1145144/pentagon-ai-lie-detector/
access: free
---

# The Pentagon wants $30 million to build an AI-powered lie detector

*The US government wants to spend $30.3 million over the next five years on an improved form of lie detector, according to a Department of Defense budget request. The program, called Polygraph+ or Polygraph Next, will focus on scoring algorithms that use artificial intelligence and machine learning and on a technique called “standoff sensing,” which…*

## Article

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Amit Katwala · MIT Technology Review

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Originally published by MIT Technology Review: https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/25/1145144/pentagon-ai-lie-detector/