CS.VANSICKLE@R20.UTEXAS.EDU (07/24/86)
Today's (July 23, 1986) Wall Street Journal contains an editorial by Paul M. Rosa urging the use of expert systems to identify potential spies (acutally traitors). Mr. Rosa is a lawyer and a former intelligence analyst. Since virtually all American traitors sell out for money, an expert system embodying the expertise of trained investigators could examine credit histories, court files, registers of titled assets such as real estate and vehicles, airline reservations, telephone records, income tax returns, bank transactions, use of passports, and issuance of visas. The system would look for suspicious patterns and alert counter-intelligence officials for further investigation. There are some obvious considerations of privacy and legality, but that is probably best discussed on another bulletin board. Mr. Rosa says the system would be used only on the 4.3 million people who hold security clearances, who have consented to government scrutiny. According to Mr. Rosa, "the obstacles to implementation are not technological," and "the system could be implemented quickly and cheaply." He predicts that the Soviets, working through their extensive international banking network, will use the same techniques to identify potential recruits. He also says that the FBI has three expert systems for monitoring labor rackets, narcotics shipments, and terrorist activities. Any reactions? Is this doable? It strikes me as more of a data collection problem than an expert system problem. Is there anyone who knows more about the FBI expert systems and can talk about it? Larry Van Sickle cs.vansickle@r20.utexas.edu Computer Sciences Dept. U of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 78712 -------