DARPA has funded a lot of crazy, science fiction-inspired projects before, but this is the first one that will be able to determine whether or not you’re socially awkward. According to Wired, the Assessment of Asymmetric Social Indicators project uses voice-sensing technology and body language-reading algorithms to pick up on anti-social behavior.
No, it’s not meant to single out wallflowers at parties. It’s meant to detect “unsocialized individuals” in the military, with the purpose of preventing conflicts between soldiers and non-combatants out in the field.
When a normal person like myself is socially awkward, the worse thing that usually happens is a night in playing Skyrim. In Afghanistan, lack of social skills can mean the difference between getting good intel and finding yourself in the middle of a hostile situation.
Monitoring people’s mental states in peaceful situations is hard enough. In the incredibly stressful crucible of Afghanistan, you could see how something like this could be a huge help to the military.