Forensic Sciences and Ethics in the Era of Application of Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

Forensic sciences are an indispensable segment of criminal investigations. Forensics, as a dynamic science that is constantly developing, follows the development of modern scientific trends. The application of artificial intelligence has not bypassed forensic science, which by definition discovers modern scientific methods, adapts them and applies them with the aim of discovering and interpreting (expert) material traces from the scene of a crime. With the initial optimism of the application of artificial intelligence, especially in the development and application of information technologies in forensic databases, comes (un)justified caution. If artificial intelligence were to take over the simulation of shell, cognitive thinking and decision-making more and more over time, the question of ethical responsibility arises. This raises a number of questions, one of the most important of which is who is responsible in the event of an error in the analysis. Furthermore, if artificial intelligence also takes over the interpretations of forensic analyses, who in that case bears the responsibility for a possible complaint about the end result - the opinion.

Our paper will deal with the mentioned problems, emphasizing that the European Union, through the ENFSI network, was the first to react in the direction of studying the application of artificial intelligence in forensic sciences, with the strategic document ENFSI - Vision of the European Forensic Science Area 2030 „Improving the reliability and validity of forensic science and encouraging implementation of new technologies“, the most important parts of which will be presented in the paper.