Featured Image Credit: FOX 10
Topics: Crime, US News, News, Artificial intelligence, Technology
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Crime, US News, News, Artificial intelligence, Technology
A man who'd been shot dead appeared in an Arizona court last month to issue an eerie message from beyond the grave.
According to local news reports, courtroom attendees were shocked to see Christopher Pelkey - who was shot dead during a road rage altercation in 2021 - bear witness during the trial of the man that killed him.
Fifty-year-old Gabriel Horcasitas was arrested for Pelkey's death following the incident in Chandler, before being found guilty in court this week.
Prior to Horcasitas' sentencing, however, his victim issued him an emotional message with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
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The family of Pelkey, who died aged just 37, played a video of him in court in what became the first victim impact statement to be delivered using AI technology - as per the New York Post.
The computer-generated clip of Pelkey heard the victim address his killer directly as part of a speech composed by his family, led by sister Stacey Wales. A previously recorded video of him was used to create the clip, as well as recordings of his voice and several images.
"To Gabriel Horcasitas, the man who shot me: it is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances," the full courtroom of attendees heard the video declare.
"In another life, we probably could have been friends."
Pelkey's AI image - in which he could be seen wearing a grey baseball cap, paired with a green zipper hoodie - continued: "I believe in forgiveness and God who forgives. I always have, and still do."
Wales told press of her late brother's message: "I said, 'I have to let him speak,' and I wrote what he would have said, and I said, 'That’s pretty good, I’d like to hear that if I was the judge.'"
She continued: "I want the world to know Chris existed.
"If one person hears his name or sees this footage and goes to his Facebook page or looks him up on YouTube, they will hear Chris’s love.
"He stood for people, and for God, and for love."
Despite Pelkey's voice failing to align with the movement of his mouth in the image, members of the court were moved by the emotional sentiment - including Judge Todd Lang.
Prior to giving Horcasitas a 10 and a half year sentencing for fatally shooting Pelkey, the judge told attendees: "I love that AI."
Alongside the video, an AI-generated image was also used, showing how the victim would look if he'd been given the chance to live.
"This is the best I can ever give you of what I would have looked like if I got the chance to grow old," the clip explained.
"Remember, getting old is a gift that not everybody has, so embrace it and stop worrying about those wrinkles."