Approved For Release 2000/08/1 1
: CIA-RDP96-00792R000500560004-8
COMPUTER PSYCHOTECHNOLOGY
- Dr.
I. V. Smirnov -
Dr, Smirnov
presented
his work
in
using computers
to
aid
in
psychoanalysis.
Dr.
Smirnov
and
members
of
his
institute
have
developed
software
that
provides
insight
into
the
psychological makeup
of a
person
based
on
their
subconscious
responses
to
computer
generated
subliminal images.
The person under evaluation wears an electroencephalograph (EEG) helmet and
watches a computer screen.
Images are placed on the screen for a time duration too short to recognize
i
at the level of consciousness.
The response of the individual to the subliminal images
is recorded by
the EEG for future computer processing.
Dr, Smirnov claimed that the results from his computer-aided psychoanalysis method had
been
used
to put
together a team of six women
skiers who were on a long distance
arctic
ski
trip
involving an extended
period of time
together under confining conditions.
He
also stated
that
his
computer approach had been used successfully with children who were retarded and disabled
in ways
that made conventional methods of psychoanalysis impractical.
One of the key features of the computer-aided psychoanalysis method developed by
Dr.
Smirnov was that the results of processing the EEG outputs revealed the truth about the motivating
factors of an individual.
The technology offered by Dr. Smirnov was said to be useful in determining
such
things
as
basic
information
about
a
person,
actual memory
content
of a
person
(including
information
that
the
individual
tried
to
hide), and
major, behavioral
motives
of a
person
(goals,
addictions, criminal and antisocial desires,
etc.)
It was said that while a polygraph detected
lies, the
computer-aided process developed by Dr, Smirnov detected truth.
Several constructive uses of this technology were offered, including those given below:
•
Stress reduction,
•
Neurotic status treatment,
•
Forecasting a person’s behavior during extreme situations,
•
Selection of persons for special teams,
•
Selection of personnel seeking employment, and
• Truth analysis during jury trials.
polrh
Approved For Release 2000/08/11
: CIA-RDP96-00792R000500560004-8
Approved For Release 2000/08/11
: CIA-RDP96-00792R000500560004-8
In addition to the diagnostic aspects of Dr. Smirnov’s work, progress was claimed in the development
of psychocorrective treatment and attitude modification using audio techniques.
Thus, when undesired
attitudes were uncovered,
it was possible to correct them with audio treatment.
On Wednesday, 20 November 1991, around 9:00 p.m., three members of the team went to
Dr. Smirnov’s
institute
to conduct additional
discussions on
his computer-aided psychoanalysis and
psychocorrective techniques.
The institute was in Moscow and consists of about 200 people who live
and work together
in what begs to be described as a commune situation.
The people appear to be
dedicated to the work that they are doing and seem to be very concerned that the technology that they
have developed not fall into the hands of people or organizations that would abuse it.
After
a
brief
discussion
about
the
institute,
an
offer
was made
to
demonstrate
the
computer-aided psychoanalysis technique to us by having one of us volunteer to a test session.
One
member of the team did volunteer and went to another building to take a demonstration psychological
test on the person’s feelings about names.
While the team member was taking the test, the remaining
team members continued to hold discussions with Dr. Smirnov and about eight of his associates.
About
minutes
after
leaving,
the
team member
volunteer
returned
for
continued
discussions. A brief description was given of the process, which included reviewing a list of names and
discarding names that were not liked
(it turned out this was due to a mistake in translation, names
that
were
not important
were supposed
to have
been
discarded—not names that were not
liked).
Additionally, the volunteer was asked
to supply names that should be included on the
list that were
not present.
As I recall, after this was done the EEG cap was put on, the lights were turned off, and a
tape with
noise was played
to mask any background
noise.
The volunteer was asked to watch
the
screen and push the button on a remote switch every time that a word was recognized on the computer
screen.
Most of the time, a random sequence of letters was visible.
Occasionally, a recognizable word
would appear.
The exercise of word recognition was believed to be a means of causing the volunteer to
maintain a focus on
the computer
screen.
The
real work was going on
in responses to subliminal
images (names) that were present for periods too short to be recognized.
Once these discussions ended, a recommendation was made to go to the
test building and
get
the
results.
When we
got
there,
the computer was
still, processing
data and
there was an
opportunity to discuss some aspects of what was going on inside the computer.
I was told that the
data from
the EEG
is
noisy
and
needs
to
be
filtered
(apparently
using
FFTs)
before
follow-on
processing can be done.
After
filtering, the data
is subjected to some type of factor analysis which
is
followed by cluster analysis.
Approved For Release 2000/08/11
: CIA-RDP96-00792R000500560004-8
Approved For Release 2000/08/1 1
: CIA-RDP96-00792R000500560004-8
The
computer
processing
algorithms
are
sufficiently
sophisticated
to
determine
which
factors are important and in what way they are important. The computer decides what content should
be plotted on which axis and what the nature of the axis should
be.
The processing
is numerically
intensive.
I was told that the computer used for this processing was an IBM-compatible 80386 with a
math coprocessor.
If so, this was the only 80386 machine that
I knowingly saw during the trip.
Once the processing was complete, we were
all shown (with the volunteer’s consent) the
results of the person’s attitude toward people’s names.
It turned out that the response to
all names
was between almost
neutral
(very
slightly bad)
to bad
(i.e.,
the person did not have good
feelings
toward the names tested).
While most of the names were bunched together, one of the names stood
out as being far in the direction of a bad reaction.
It turned out that this name was the name of the
volunteer.
The volunteer then produced a business card
in which,
interestingly enough,
initials were
used instead of the given names.
After
the discussions of the demonstration
test
were completed, D r. Smirnov described
some of the work that hid been done in the arena of Ipsychocorrective treatment.]
He said that he was
able to place subliminal messages in audio tapes that could ^ha^nge the way people thought
ojr reacted
to
situations.
Several
cases were
cited.
In one
case, a subliminal message was played through a
ventilation pipe that went from the lab to an outside area where men were working.
The message was
for the men
to walk around the side of the building, go downstairs, knock on the door, and ask
for
directions on what were they supposed to do.
After some period of time (15-30 minutes
I think), the
men came downstairs to a place where they had not been before and asked what
it was that they were
supposed
to do.
In another case,
Dr. Smirnov said that
his mother-in-law was dying (of cancer) and
was in such extreme pain that the strongest medication that they had to offer did no good.
He said
that he made a tape for her that allowed her to block the pain so that no medication was needed.
This
allowed her to have a more peaceful ending to her
life.
The
visit
at
the
institute was a most
interesting
experience.
The ending was
also an
interesting experience.
When we finished our discussions, the drivers who took us to the institute had
left.
One of Dr. Smirnov’s associates (student?) took us back to the hotel in his car, which was some
type of mid-size GM product (Buick
I think).
The
first time he stopped, the unmistakable sound of
metal on metal could be heard.
Like everything else
in Moscow*
if
it’s broke,
it’s broke.
Charging
through Moscow
at
midnight
in a
vehicle with
a
braking system
consisting
of a metal brake pad
backing plate squeezing against a metal rotor was an experience
I had not counted on having (but
it
beat walking).
'jbtse
Sulthmlri
rnf it
JbdStfd
-Hu. uE*0» or cdM Hk
Ik urn hoofed
t
Approved For Release 2000/08/11
: CIA-RDP96-00792R000500560004-8
Approved For Release 2000/08/11
: CIA-RDP96-00792R000500560004-8
The
work
being
conducted
by
Dr.
Smirnov
and
his
associates
impressed me
as
a
technological advance somewhat like that of the atomic bomb.
While
I am making an assessment far
from any claimed area of expertise,
the notion of measuring subliminal responses with an EEG and
processing the data using established sophisticated statistical algorithms to obtain information about a
person seems plausible.
It seems to me that a very powerful technology has been developed that has a
tremendous potential
for abuse and
the
results cannot be undone;^ Of course,
the technology has a
tremendous potential for doing good as well.
I share the concerns that appeared to be expressed by the
members of the institute that the tools that they have developed end up being used
in a responsible
manner.
During discussions toward the end of the night,
I mentioned
to one of the Russians that
what we were seeing was equivalent to the development of an atomic bomb.
The response was that it
was much worse because uat least when an atomic bomb goes off you know it.”
Approved For Release 2000/08/1 1
: CIA-RDP96-00792R000500560004-8