As an increasing share of criminal investigations is built on digital traces, from drone footage and body-worn cameras to social media data, the very foundation of what is seen as evidence is shifting. A forthcoming research project, funded by FORTE, will examine how AI and algorithmic tools are reshaping evidentiary practices in Swedish court cases and what this means for legal certainty and due process.
The project AI innovations, digital material and the construction of digital evidence in the Swedish legal system addresses a rapidly growing challenge for the justice system: how large volumes of digital material are turned into evidence at a time when AI is becoming increasingly central. Police investigations today rely heavily on digital traces. In addition to witness statements and traditional forensic work, investigators handle vast and varied digital data — from CCTV, body-worn cameras and drones to covert data collection, forensic DNA genealogy, facial recognition, and information from internet providers, online platforms, mobile phones and other private actors.
By tracing how digital material moves between different professional groups, the project will examine how police officers, prosecutors, defence lawyers and judges select, interpret and evaluate digital information to establish what counts as reliable evidence. AI systems and algorithmic tools now play a growing role in these processes. They connect datapoints and generate probability-based patterns that rely more on estimation than on established certainty.
These technologies not only strengthen investigative capacity — they also reshape what is considered knowledge and which forms of reasoning are seen as legitimate in investigative and legal work. The project highlights how digital evidence is actually constructed, the new forms of evidentiary claims that are emerging, and the implications of a legal system where authoritative interpretations are increasingly shaped by algorithms rather than human judgement.
Jan Ljungberg (project leader), professor of Informatics at the University of Gothenburg
Marie Eneman, associate professor of Informatics at the University of Gothenburg
Ulf Petrusson, professor of Law at the University of Gothenburg