Artificial Intelligence in Forensic Medicine and Medicolegal Practice: Applications, Limitations, and Readiness for Implementation

Abstract

Objective: Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being explored as a support tool in forensic medicine and medicolegal practice, where objective, reproducible, and timely interpretation of complex evidence is essential. This narrative review aimed to evaluate current applications of AI in forensic medicine and to discuss the methodological, ethical, and medicolegal requirements for responsible implementation. Methods: A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for peer-reviewed English-language studies published between January 2018 and October 2025. Eligible publications included original research articles and reviews addressing AI-based methods in forensic domains, including postmortem imaging, age estimation, toxicology, human identification, traumatology, histopathology, and forensic reporting. The selected literature was synthesized thematically according to major applications and cross-cutting implementation challenges. Results: Machine learning and deep learning approaches may improve efficiency, reproducibility, and pattern recognition in several forensic workflows, particularly postmortem imaging, skeletal age estimation, mass spectrometry-based toxicology, biometric identification, digital pathology, and natural language processing of medicolegal reports. However, most models remain limited by heterogeneous datasets, insufficient forensic-specific validation, algorithmic opacity, potential bias, and limited external generalizability. Conclusion: AI should currently be regarded as a human-supervised adjunct rather than an autonomous source of forensic evidence. Future implementation requires forensic-specific validation, transparent reporting, explainability, preservation of digital chain of custody, and human-in-the-loop oversight to ensure scientific reliability, professional accountability, and medicolegal readiness.