2017/12/20 by Anil Kumar Singh, Singh, Anil Kumar, Akhilesh Sudhakar +1
Computer Science · Health Professions · Psychology · #Computation and Language (cs.CL) #Computers and Society (cs.CY) #Deception detection and forensic psychology #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection #Interpreting and Communication in Healthcare
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1712.07512
openalex publication_date 2017/12/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Ideas from forensic linguistics are now being used frequently in Natural Language Processing (NLP), using machine learning techniques. While the role of forensic linguistics was more benign earlier, it is now being used for purposes which are questionable. Certain methods from forensic linguistics are employed, without considering their scientific limitations and ethical concerns. While we take the specific case of forensic linguistics as an example of such trends in NLP and machine learning, the issue is a larger one and present in many other scientific and data-driven domains. We suggest that such trends indicate that some of the applied sciences are exceeding their legal and scientific briefs. We highlight how carelessly implemented practices are serving to short-circuit the due processes of law as well breach ethical codes.