Introduction. Modern realities of the transformation of methods of committing crimes predetermine the need for additional study in forensics of the use of skills and abilities by persons committing crimes. Currently, the active development of information and communication technologies has contributed to the actualization of scientific research on digital skills and human habits. At the same time, due scientific attention has not yet been paid to the skills and abilities of criminals to use psychotechnologies. Materials and Methods. The theoretical basis of the study was work on general issues of understanding psychotechnology, the problems of using these technologies, as well as methods of social engineering in criminal activity. Case studies are provided to support key findings and provisions. In the process of work, such methods of scientific knowledge were used as analysis and synthesis, analogy, comparison, etc. The Result of the Study. The conceptual content of the term "psychotechnology" is considered, the areas and goals of their application are indicated, examples of the use of psychotechnology in criminal activity are given; in connection with this topic, the relevance of issues of destructive impact on the human psyche as a result of the use of artificial intelligence and neural networks was noted. Findings and Conclusions. A new task for forensic science has been identified - the study of the use of psychotechnology in criminal activity. The expediency of distinguishing between social engineering methods and psychotechnology is indicated. In the context of the issues under consideration, attention is drawn to the need for interdisciplinary discussion of the issue of the destructive psychological influence of artificial intelligence and neural networks, not only used by criminals, but also as an independent object of research, as well as measures to eliminate such an impact.