The assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, who was shot dead on the streets of Stockholm, remains one of the greatest political murder mysteries.
Even after 40 years, authorities have not been able to catch the culprit.
To find answers, amateur sleuths are turning to artificial intelligence in hopes of identifying new leads and persuading authorities to reopen an investigation that ended in 2020.
The podcast team, called Spår (“Truck”), is currently leveraging a custom-built AI engine developed by a Swedish-Belgian company to analyze hundreds of thousands of pages of case files.
“This is about the murder of our leader, our democratically elected prime minister. We can’t just close the case,” said podcast co-host Anton Berg, who will use AI to present the findings step by step.
Although no breakthrough has been made yet, law enforcement officials believe that AI’s ability to quickly process data and identify previously overlooked patterns could be reason enough to reopen the case.
“Our hope is that this tool will be so advanced that investigations can be started again,” Bregu said.
The role of AI in crime solving
The AI tools the team deployed mimic human research teams. Analyze 30,000 digital documents in less than 1 second. Otherwise, it would take years for humans to evaluate these documents.
In the field of criminology, AI could be the next game-changer that could revolutionize crime-solving methodologies, according to experts.
AI is a paradigm shift. Just as computers have, so will the way we work. But this is something much bigger,” said Lena Klaasen, former director of the Swedish National Forensic Center.
In 2018, Los Angeles police used AI-powered DNA analysis to arrest Joseph DeAngelo, known as the Golden State Killer, who had murdered 13 people and raped at least 50 years earlier.
Can AI help catch criminals?
AI can help find clues, but it’s not sure it can solve murder mysteries efficiently.
If certain data is missing, the AI may not be able to find the answer. Experts say you can’t invent even the most efficient technology if the evidence no longer exists.
“There is no technology to help with information that doesn’t exist, and gaps in information are a big part of the problem,” said Lennart Gune, head of the Swedish public prosecutor’s office.
Additionally, the use of AI in investigations also raises ethical and privacy concerns regarding DNA scanning and surveillance.
For example, in 2025 police were given limited powers to use real-time AI-assisted facial recognition to fight crime.
On the 40th anniversary, protesters petitioned Sweden’s parliament to reopen the case, with renewed hope that new technology will help them track down the perpetrators.
