Murder victim's AI avatar confronts his killer in Arizona court: ‘We could have been…’
Posted on: May 08, 2025 19:23 IST | Posted by: Hindustantimes
A 37-year-old adult male who was killed in a route passion shot in 2021 addressed his slayer during his trial in Arizona, all thanks to artificial intelligence. An AI avatar of Chris Pelkey appeared in court to deliver a statement to Gabriel Horcasitas, who was accused of shooting him at a traffic signal three years ago, according to a report by The Guardian.
“To Gabriel Horcasitas, the man who shot me, it is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances. In another life, we probably could have been friends. I believe in forgiveness, and a God who forgives. I always have, and I still do,” Pelkey's AI avatar said.
The Army combat veteran was shot at a red light in 2021 when he walked to Horcasitas’ car after leaving his own vehicle.
Pelkey was revived through artificial intelligence in what is being called the first use of AI to deliver a victim impact statement. Pelkey's sister, Stacey Wales, decided to use AI after she kept thinking about how her brother would have faced his attacker while gathering more than 40 impact statements from Chris’s family and friends. “All I kept coming back to was, what would Chris say?” she said.
She and her husband brought that vision to life by feeding videos and audio of Pelkey into an AI model, trying to evoke the sentiments and thoughts of his loved ones. She even compared the result to creating a “Frankenstein of love.”
Surprisingly, the judge responded positively to the AI video. Judge Todd sentenced Horcasitas to 10 and a half years in prison on manslaughter charges.
“I loved that AI, thank you for that. As angry as you are, as justifiably angry as the family is, I heard the forgiveness. I feel that that was genuine," he said.
Pelkey’s family was brought to tears seeing him on screen and believed that the AI recreation was a true representation of Pelkey who would have forgiven his killer.
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