Magnet Forensics launches Magnet AI Research Lab to provide peer-backed evidence to digital forensics community
The new initiative launches with its first published study in the Journal of Forensic Sciences comparing an AI expert system to human examiners.
ATLANTA, GA – October 26, 2026 – Magnet Forensics today launched the Magnet AI Research Lab, a dedicated program that will conduct and publish peer-reviewed research on AI in digital forensics. Research produced by the Magnet AI Research Lab will give investigators, agencies, and courts evidence – not claims – to judge the accuracy and reliability of AI-driven tool outputs.
“Every forensic examiner has faced the question: how do you know?” said renowned AI expert, Brandon Epstein, Principal Digital Forensics Specialist at Magnet Forensics. “In every forensic discipline, confidence comes from research that can withstand scrutiny. As AI becomes a larger part of digital investigations, it should be held to that same standard.”
The Magnet AI Research Lab launches with its first peer-reviewed study, Evaluating the use of a novel expert system for interpretation of media authentication results, published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences. The study tested whether trained examiners or the AI expert system in Magnet Verify more accurately interpreted media authentication data.
Researchers built a controlled test of 14 video files, including camera originals, edited files, social media content, AI-generated media, and files designed to challenge classification. Twenty trained examiners assessed each file’s authenticity. Their opinions were compared with the expert system’s automated conclusions and measured against known ground truth.
Key findings:
- 91% vs. 69%: The expert system outscored the human average by 22 percentage points.
- Zero incorrect classifications: The expert system made no incorrect calls.
- Known limits: When the data did not support a definitive conclusion, the expert system declined to make a determination rather than risk an inaccurate result.
“The most important takeaway isn’t that a machine performed better than a human,” said Epstein. “It’s that these findings were independently peer reviewed and published in a scientific journal. The goal of the Magnet AI Research Lab is not to ask the community to trust AI, but to provide the evidence needed to evaluate it.”
Beyond its own research, the Lab will connect practitioners, agencies, and academic researchers to explore meaningful questions about AI in digital forensics. By supporting with research design, methodology, and publication, it will help close the gap between real-world investigative challenges and the science needed to evaluate them.
Learn more about the Magnet AI Research Lab here.
About Magnet Forensics
Founded in 2010, Magnet Forensics is a developer of digital investigation solutions that acquire, analyze, report on, and manage evidence from digital sources, including mobile devices, computers, IoT devices, and cloud services. Magnet Forensics products are used by more than 6,000 public and private sector customers in over 100 countries and help investigators fight crime, protect assets, and guard national security