The family of a man killed in a 2021 road rage incident in Arizona used artificial intelligence to portray the victim delivering his own impact statement during his killer’s sentencing hearing, according to local news reports.
Christopher Pelkey’s sister, brother-in-law, and their friend used AI technology to recreate his likeness, reportedly drawing from video clips recorded while he was alive. It is believed to be one of the first—if not the very first—instances of an AI-generated victim impact statement being used in court.
“To Gabriel Horcasitas, the man who shot me: It is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances,” the AI version of the 37-year-old said in the video. “In another life, we probably could’ve been friends. I believe in forgiveness and in God who forgives. I always have, and I still do.”
Judge Todd Lang appreciated the video, according to Fox 10 News. Prosecutors requested a 9.5-year sentence for Horcasitas; ABC 15 reported that he was ultimately sentenced to more than a decade for manslaughter.
The team putting together the video reportedly pulled from different tools in order to make it happen.
“There’s no tool out there that you can just go and say, ‘Here’s a voice file. Here’s a picture. Please make it come to life. And this is what I wanted to say.’ So they’re scrounging and using this tool and that tool and this tool and this script and this audio and this image and trying to mash it all together and make a Frankenstein of love,” Pelkey’s sister Stacey Wales said in an interview with Fox 10.
