Beyond The Black Box: Building Trust In Software-Generated Evidence In Criminal Justice

Building Trust in Software-Generated Evidence in Criminal Justice

Introduction

Last week, I attended an international seminar hosted by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU), where we touched on the use of technology and blockchain analytics in investigations, asset freezing, and eventual prosecutions of crypto cases. Interestingly, the past month had also seen me closely following the UK consultation on software-generated evidence in criminal proceedings.

Truth be told, these experiences left the same lingering thoughts and echoed some of my long-held concerns. It became clear to me that we are now at a pivotal point in legal and regulatory practice where software-generated outputs, be it from AI, analytics tools, or legacy accounting systems are becoming central to criminal investigations and prosecutions. And yet, the legal framework hasn't caught up. In many cases, we are still treating machines as infallible witnesses, even when their