Are people lying to you in emails? This algorithm can tell
Spamming filters are really great as they save us from having to deal with most of the promotional junk that we receive in our emails, but they're not always spot on. Many advertisements and, even worse, numerous phishing emails make their way into our inboxes, and if you don't have a lot of experience in dealing with them, it can be pretty hard to separate scams from actual offers and opportunities. Fortunately, researchers may be on track to finding a great solution.
A group of four researchers: Stephan Ludwig, Tom van Laer, Ko de Ruyter, and Mike Friedman have developed an algorithm that can figure out when you're being lied to in the emails that you receive. Although the algorithm is more accurate than the average human mind, it's still not perfect: in the research, humans we're only able to spot lies in 54% of the situations, while the automated system managed to obtain a 70% accuracy score. In case you're curios, the algorithm doesn't actually verify the facts from the text, but instead uses language markers derived from studies related to the vocabulary patterns for lying. There's still a lot of work to be done, but the researchers are optimistic that the end result will be a reliable lie-detection tool.
If you want to read about other interesting science-related facts, I recommend: "Dynamic FOV modifications could stop VR motion sickness", "Your social network account can show if you are ill" or "How video games can change the world for the better".
