The Department of Justice-Office of Cybercrime (DOJ-OOC) is spearheading an inter-agency effort to develop common protocols and minimum standards for the handling of AI-generated and AI-manipulated evidence.
The initiative was discussed in Thailand during a meeting involving delegates from the DOJ, Philippine National Police (PNP) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
The agencies proposed the creation of a Technical Working Group (TWG) that will explore the development of an inter-agency framework governing the identification, authentication, evaluation, preservation and presentation of evidence created or altered through artificial intelligence.
The proposed TWG is expected to examine how investigators, prosecutors and forensic examiners should handle digital evidence that may have been generated or modified using AI particularly as the technology becomes increasingly capable of producing realistic images, audio recordings, videos, documents and other digital content.
The initiative seeks to establish a common approach among government agencies in determining whether AI-generated or AI-manipulated evidence is authentic, reliable and legally defensible before it is presented in court.
The delegates recognized that digital information can be modified, destroyed, manipulated, created and duplicated, thus, making the determination of authenticity and reliability a continuing challenge for law enforcement and the justice system.
The increasing use of generative AI and other technologies capable of creating synthetic content has further complicated issues involving attribution, authenticity, reliability and admissibility of digital evidence.
Under the proposed framework, the TWG would explore minimum standards that agencies could follow in collecting, examining, preserving and presenting AI-related evidence.
The discussions also stressed the need for the responsible and defensible use of AI in criminal investigations, including the use of validated tools, reliable data, proper corroboration and clear documentation of how AI-assisted results were produced.
The inter-agency approach is intended to ensure that investigative practices involving artificial intelligence remain technically sound and legally defensible, particularly when challenged in court.
The initiative is also aimed at strengthening the Philippine criminal justice system’s preparedness for emerging evidentiary challenges involving deepfakes, synthetic media, generative AI and other technologies that can be used to create or manipulate digital evidence.#