Family uses AI to bring back man shot to death to address his killer in court

The family used videos, pictures and voice recordings to recreate their loved one.

Chris Pelkey, who was shot in a road rage incident in Arizona three years ago, gave his own impact statement through AI.

Pelkey was 37 when he was killed, and his family used videos and voice recordings to recreate him in AI, his sister Stacey Wales told the BBC.

It was Stacey who wrote the words that were used in the AI video that was played in court.

The AI version of her brother said: "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."

The video was played at Gabriel Horcasitas' sentencing, where he was given 10-and-a-half years in prison on manslaughter charges.

Judge Todd Lang oversaw the hearing and appeared to appreciate the technology being used.

He said: "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."

According to Paul Grimm, a retired federal judge and Duke Law School professor, the use of AI in the courtroom has become more normalised.

He told the BBC that when Arizona's Supreme Court issues a ruling, it has an AI system that makes those rulings digestible for people.

According to him, because there was no jury present at the hearing, the technology was allowed to be used.

He said: "We'll be learning [AI] on a case-by-case basis, but the technology is irresistible."