Introduction to the special issue Forensic Linguistics in the Digital Era: Where Do We Go from Here?

Abstract Forensic Linguistics (FL) is at a critical juncture in the digital era, where the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Computational Linguistics presents both transformative opportunities and complex ethical challenges. This special issue, Forensic Linguistics in the Digital Era: Where Do We Go from Here? , showcases eight original studies that collectively examine the methodological, ethical, and interdisciplinary shifts reshaping FL. The contributions span topics including algorithmic surveillance, cancel culture, legal discourse analysis, multimodal courtroom rhetoric, and neural machine translation. Together, they illustrate how AI-driven tools such as Natural Language Processing (NLP) and deep learning are expanding FL’s scope beyond traditional applications like authorship attribution and deception detection. While highlighting cutting-edge innovations, the issue also foregrounds concerns around algorithmic bias, linguistic inclusivity, and the limits of automation in high-stakes contexts. Designed for scholars, practitioners, and students across linguistics, law, computer science, and media studies, this collection advances a reflexive, ethically attuned, and methodologically rigorous vision for the future of FL.