The Morbid Linguist

It's clear that AI is actively changing our lives. I venture to suggest that AI will also have an impact on criminal behavior, if it hasn't already. By that, I mean that I expect to some day read a ransom note, threatening letter, or manifesto written at least in part by AI. So I believe the future of forensic linguistics must be a matter of detecting language written by AI models. AI and its writings have already appeared in civil cases. Just last summer, someone used ChatGPT to write a court filing , for one example. I am confident that I can expand my thesis — a method of determining an author's native language — to apply it to detecting AI-writing in a text sample. The big obstacle that has discouraged me from trying so far has been the lack of access to academic research catalogs since I graduated a few years ago. There are other libraries I can use, namely ResearchGate , so I'll start my search there to see if anyone has published anything about authorship analysi...

     In the event that you find yourself in possession of language evidence and in need of an expert, you can request the services of a forensic linguist. Chances are, if you have language evidence, you probably do need a forensic linguist.     As of the time of posting, I am available for consultations. If you believe you are in need of my services, you can contact me  to discuss details. Depending on the specifics of your case, I may be able to help.  However, as I currently  lack the qualifications to testify in court, I recommend contacting my mentor's association, Robert Leonard Associates , about highly sensitive cases.

News media seems to have made it a standard to identify someone according to profession, or some other social label, even when irrelevant to the respective story. One example of this is seen in reports about Eric Lundgren; headlines seemingly label their stories as coverage of a legal battle between an “e-waste recycler” and tech giant Microsoft. Many headlines resemble these: Electronics-recycling innovator is going to prison for trying to extend computers’ lives [ LA Times ] ‘E-waste’ recycling innovator faces prison after losing fight with Microsoft [ Seattle Times ] E-waste Innovator Will Go to Jail for Making Windows Restore Disks That Only Worked with Valid Licenses [ Gizmodo ] E-waste Recycler gets 15-months in Prison Thanks to Microsoft [ Legit Reviews ] From these headlines, one could infer the subjective opinions of the writers: This humble “e-waste recycler”, however innovative, is jail-bound because of Microsoft, and likely for some unfair reason. Many of the headlin...

As of today, my complete thesis has been uploaded to the Hofstra library. Unfortunately, as is the modern tradition in academia, most published knowledge is intentionally locked behind a paywall, and my thesis is no exception. All 73 pages of my thesis have been uploaded through ProQuest. Those with institutional or subscription access to that database may download and read it (possibly even in full) through  ProQuest . As a graduate, however, I cannot even access my own paper this way. However, if anyone desires a copy of my thesis in full, I have uploaded a copy to Researchgate: available here . I am still in the process of editing my thesis for publication in academic journals, likely in two or three parts. I also edit and publish large parts of it on this very blog.

Stereotypes form harmful boxes for containing entire peoples, but some can establish a chicken-and-egg relationship when paired with observation bias. The waiters of Paris have a peculiar stereotype that is as flattering as it is problematic: Apparently, Parisian waiters perform seriously and with pride; so much so that this sense of authority translates as disrespect to the uninitiated. This stereotype has proven so pervasively true that it has inspired a corrective campaign by the Parisian board of tourism and chamber of commerce , as well as a psychological condition wherein Japanese tourists suffer culture shock when confronted by rude Parisians . The stereotype of a haughty French waiter collides with another stereotype in the case of Guillaume Rey, a Paris-trained waiter who was fired from a Toronto restaurant for rude behavior: The overly-serious French waiter was fired for clashing with overly-polite Canadian coworkers. Rey claims that his termination in August 2017 was base...

The Nursery Note One of the most famous kidnapping cases in American history is that of Charles Lindbergh, Jr. The child’s father and namesake was Charles Lindbergh, the famous aviator. Lindbergh, Sr. had completed his record-breaking transatlantic flight in 1927, and he was still a prominent celebrity when his 20-month-old son was kidnapped from his nursery on the night of March 1, 1932. The infant was not recovered until May 12, 1932, when his body was discovered near the Lindbergh home. Investigators determined that he likely died shortly after he was taken.  Between the night of March 1 and when ransom is delivered on April 2, 1932, the abductors delivered a total of 15 notes . In September 1934, a German immigrant was seen spending one of the gold certificates used to pay the ransom and was soon arrested. He was convicted and executed in 1936.  Mark Falzini , the archivist of the New Jersey State Police Museum in possession of the notes and other evidence, i...