The Public Tech Media Lab has announced a formal partnership with the Visual Evidence Lab at the University of Colorado, a research group dedicated to reforming how video technology is understood and applied within the legal system.
The Visual Evidence Lab, led by Professor Sandra Ristovska, works at the intersection of media, technology, and law. Its research challenges conventional assumptions about video as evidence, with a particular focus on emerging concerns around AI and deepfakes.
The lab’s core areas of work include addressing the inconsistent storage of evidentiary videos in the U.S. legal system, studying how courts have historically used video evidence and with what outcomes, and developing research-based tools to reduce the cognitive and interpretive biases that affect how video is perceived in judicial settings.
The partnership, which was approved by members of both labs, is expected to generate joint research projects and training opportunities for scholars and practitioners in journalism, media studies, and law.
The collaboration is one of several cross-institutional efforts aimed at ensuring that video and AI evidence is treated equitably and responsibly as its role in legal proceedings continues to expand. Further details about joint initiatives are expected to be shared in the coming weeks.