We are increasingly collecting data about our daily habits. This makes it harder for someone to lie without being caught. Big Data and analytical innovations are capable of telling whether or not you are telling the truth. 

Mobile device data is already being used by auto insurance companies, for example, to track their customers' actual driving habits, and hospitals are monitoring their patients. All of your habits have turned into data, which in turn is stored and, therefore, can be tracked.

Will this be the end of lying as we know it?

Companies are getting smarter. For example, an insurance company can now monitor the completion of its online forms. This can show them that sometimes information is re-typed. When submitting the form, the customer changed a piece of information: instead of saying the car was parked on the street, they claimed it was in a garage. Big Data analytics tools are now capable of flagging this type of fraud. 

In a serious car accident, the police can collect the phones of the parties involved and check if anyone was talking, texting, or using some kind of app at the moment of the crash. Someone might even say they had their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road, but their smartphone's sensors won't let them lie. It is only a matter of time before we all start using this type of data, and the use of witnesses will become less and less important.

And it doesn't even have to be on such a large scale. An HR manager can quickly verify the background and qualifications of job applicants. Parents can track their children to know if they really went to school or how fast they were driving. They can even receive a notification or an email when they leave a predefined geographic area. 

This ease of data manipulation can even be dangerous. Social networks are full of lies and rumors, which can spread very quickly. A classic example: When the Associated Press news agency had its Twitter account hacked, and hackers published the news that President Barack Obama had been injured in attacks at the White House. The information spread so quickly that it interfered with the country's financial market. The Dow Jones index lost 130 points in a matter of minutes. But the lie was soon detected and everything returned to normal.

It is fascinating to observe the power of information. Many of these algorithms are available in the palms of our hands, even if still for entertainment purposes. But the cameras and sensors processed in our smartphones will, very soon, expose liars.