Computerized Text Analysis Might Help Track Psychopathic Killers

Scientists made a study that shows it would be possible to identify psychopathic murderers by the way they speak or write, certain traits of personality being encrypted in the way they express themselves.

“Previous work has looked at how psychopaths use language,” revealed Jeff Hancock, Cornell professor of computing and information science . “Our paper is the first to show that you can use automated tools to detect the distinct speech patterns of psychopaths.”

According to Eurasia Review, the research conducted by Hancock and his University of British Columbia colleagues shows that these killers unconsciously use certain words which can give away the fact they suffer from a mental disorder.

It's not the first time these types of conclusions were drawn, but it's the first time anyone suggests that the results can be translated into an algorithm which later can be implemented in a computer program.

The paper shows that psychopaths tend to use conjunctions such as “because,” “since” or “so that,” in order to find a justified reason for their crimes. Furthermore, they're not so fluent when they speak and in their statements they mostly outline their physical needs, as opposed to non-psychopaths whose actions are mainly based on social or spiritual needs.

It wouldn't be too difficult to create such a computing tool, but of course it wouldn't be foolproof. I would imagine such a utility being integrated into instant messaging software and social networks, which might be a great way to prevent any unfortunate events.

We've seen lately that social media is utilized by many cyber and non-cyber criminals to fulfill their deeds and this might just be a highly useful way of stopping them before they act, not to mention the large quantities of data that could be collected to further research these ill-intended actions.

The internet has become a very dangerous place. Our bank accounts, our children's mental health and our private lives are highly exposed in the current virtual environment and tools such as the one mentioned before could help make this world a bit safer for everyone.