AI brings deceased Arizona man 'back to life' in court to deliver victim impact statement
ARIZONA: In a first-of-its-kind courtroom moment, artificial intelligence was used to recreate a deceased man's voice and likeness so he could address his killer at sentencing, three years after his death in a road rage shooting.
Chris Pelkey, who was 37 when he was fatally shot at a red light in Arizona, was brought "back" using AI technology developed by his family. They used voice recordings, videos, and photos to construct a digital version of Pelkey that read a statement written by his sister, Stacey Wales, during the sentencing hearing of Gabriel Horcasitas, who had already been found guilty by a jury.
The AI-generated video, showing Pelkey in a grey baseball cap, delivered a message of forgiveness: “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.”
Judge Todd Lang, who presided over the case, responded emotionally to the use of the technology, stating: “I loved that AI, thank you for that. As angry as you are, as justifiably angry as the family is, I heard the forgiveness.” He sentenced Horcasitas to 10 and a half years in prison on manslaughter charges.
While some legal experts, like retired federal judge and Duke Law professor Paul Grimm, acknowledged that AI’s presence in courts is growing, particularly in non-jury phases such as sentencing, others expressed caution. Derek Leben, a business ethics professor at Carnegie Mellon University, raised concerns about fidelity to a victim's true intentions when AI is used to reconstruct posthumous speech.
Stacey Wales defended the family’s use of the technology as a respectful and ethical way to give her brother the “final word.” She further added, “We approached this with ethics and morals because this is a powerful tool. Just like a hammer can be used to break a window or build a house, that’s how we used this technology.”
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Brazil's Ancelotti raises doubts about whether Neymar will reach the 2026 World Cup
Sao Paulo (AP): Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti raised doubts about whether Neymar will be in his squad for the 2026 World Cup. The Italian has yet to pick the former captain since he took over in May.
“If Neymar deserves to be (in the squad), if he is, well, better than others, he will play in the World Cup and that's it. (But) I don't have debts to anyone,” Ancelotti said at a press conference in Washington on Friday following the draw.
Brazil is in Group C with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.
“If we speak about Neymar, we have to speak about other players,” Ancelotti added. “We have to think about Brazil with or without Neymar, with or without other players. Our final list we will make after the FIFA fixtures in March.”
The 33-year-old Neymar has never fully recovered from a torn ACL in October 2023 during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay. But he's been key for Santos in its fight to avoid relegation in the Brazilian championship.
On Wednesday, he scored a hat trick for Santos despite a muscular injury. He is expected to play again on Sunday against Cruzeiro.
Ancelotti said Brazil does not have a “referential player” at the moment, a tag for the most valuable player that Neymar has mainly worn since the 2014 home World Cup.
“We have one of the world's best goalkeepers, some of the best defenders, top midfielders and some players up front. I don't want players who want to be the best in the world, I want players who want to win the World Cup,” Ancelotti said.
Asked about his team's group, Ancelotti said Brazil can top it.
“We can win all three matches, our idea is very clear. We need to be competitive during the entire World Cup. Our goal is to play in the final and for that to happen you need to face very strong teams anyway.”
Brazil won the last of its five World Cup trophies in 2002.
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