Artificial intelligence and electronic evidence: new challenges for Ukrainian courts

Only a few years ago it was practically impossible to fake a video or audio recording so well that a court would not notice. Today artificial intelligence has changed that completely. AI can both help to investigate crime and create threats to the reliability of evidence.

How AI appears in criminal cases

Artificial intelligence is used in two opposite roles:

• An investigative tool. Law enforcement uses AI for face recognition on video, analysis of large volumes of digital data and detection of hidden links between participants in events.
• A threat to reliability. The same technology can create deepfake videos, synthetic voice recordings and fabricated chats that are hard to tell from genuine ones.

The authenticity problem: why it matters

Authenticity means confirmation that evidence is exactly what it purports to be: unaltered, not fabricated, obtained from a specific person or device at a specific time. In traditional documents authenticity is verified by a signature or a seal. With electronic data it is far more complex.

When AI can generate a realistic video or audio of any person saying anything, the court faces a serious question: how do you tell the genuine from the fake?

Methods of verifying authenticity

Leading legal systems use the following:

• Digital signatures and hashing. A file receives a unique digital fingerprint (hash). Any change, even a single pixel, changes that fingerprint.
• File metadata. Date and time of creation, device, GPS coordinates, the software used to open the file – all of this leaves traces that are hard to fake consistently.
• Computer forensic examination. A specialist can detect signs of editing and inconsistencies between content and the technical characteristics of a file.
• AI deepfake detectors. Ironically, AI algorithms are today among the most effective tools for detecting deepfake content.

The situation in Ukraine

Ukrainian law does not yet contain special rules on AI-generated evidence. Courts assess it under the general rules of reliability and admissibility. Practice is gradually taking shape, however, and lawyers are already successfully challenging evidence by raising doubts about its authenticity.

If your case involves video, audio or chat records, be sure to raise the question of their verification. This is the lawful right of every participant in proceedings.

This material is based on the academic publication: Petryk V.V., Khakhanovskyi V.H. “Artificial intelligence and electronic evidence: problems of authenticity” // Legal Journal, 2025. Read the original article.

Do you have questions about electronic evidence in your case? Contact us – we will arrange a free initial consultation.

Also in the electronic evidence series

• Electronic evidence in criminal proceedings: what you need to know
• What the law says about electronic evidence: definition and legal nature
• Types of electronic evidence: classification and international experience
• Features of electronic evidence in criminal cases: Ukrainian and global experience
• Electronic evidence in Ukrainian and foreign courts: what we can borrow