Family creates AI video to depict Arizona man addressing his killer in court
Made by his family, an AI-generated avatar of Christopher Pelkey spoke in Maricopa County Superior Court on May 1, as a judge prepared to sentence Gabriel Paul Horcasitas for shooting and killing Pelkey in a 2021 road-rage incident.
"It is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances," the Pelkey avatar says in the video. "In another life, we probably could have been friends."
The Pelkey avatar appears in the video sporting a long beard and green sweatshirt against a white backdrop. He cautions at the start that he is an AI-version of Pelkey, which is apparent through the gaps in audio and slightly mismatched movement of his mouth.
Pelkey, a U.S. Army veteran, was 37 at the time of the shooting.
The video marked a novel use of AI in the legal system, which has viewed the rapidly growing technology with a mix of fascination and trepidation.
Courts generally have strict rules on the types of information that can be presented in legal proceedings, and several lawyers have been sanctioned after AI systems created fake cases that they cited in legal briefs.
Pelkey's relatives were given more leeway to present the AI-generated video to the judge at sentencing, given that it was not evidence in the case. Horcasitas, who was sentenced to 10.5 years in state prison, had already been convicted on manslaughter and endangerment charges.
Pelkey's sister Stacey Wales said she scripted the AI-generated message after struggling to convey years of grief and pain in her own statement. She said she was not ready to forgive Horcasitas, but felt her brother would have a more understanding outlook.
'The goal was to humanize Chris, to reach the judge, and let him know his impact on this world and that he existed,' she told Reuters.
Generative AI, Wales said, is 'just another avenue that you can use to reach somebody.'
Wales said she worked with her husband and a family friend, who all work in the tech industry, to create it.
Harry Surden, a law professor at the University of Colorado, said the use of generative AI material in court raises ethical concerns, as others may seek to use those tools to play on the emotions of judges and juries. The content is a simulation of reality, not the verified evidence that courts typically assess, Surden said.
'What we're seeing is the simulations have gotten so good that it completely bypasses our natural skepticism and goes straight to our emotion,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
4 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Woman hurled in jail after letting grass in front of her home go brown during hot weather
A woman in Florida was thrown in jail after letting the grass in front of her home go brown during hot weather, violating HOA guidelines. Irena Green was arrested and spent a week in jail after a battle with her homeowner's association in Hillsborough County over browning grass in front of her home. 'I think they have way too much power,' Green told ABC news. 'I've never heard of anything like this in my life.' Green said her grass is often not green due to a large tree that's planted near her sidewalk, as well as mandatory watering restrictions that were put in place last year following a drought. She claimed, however, that her lawn was not the worst looking in the Riverview Creek View subdivision. 'If you drive around my neighborhood, you'll see there's plenty of yards not up to par,' she added. The Trowbridge Company Inc., the HOA management company, began notifying her of the violations, which spanned a range of issues including her browning lawn and a dirty mailbox, Green said. 'The grass had started turning brown. So they started sending notes, and it went from the grass being brown to there's a dent in my garage.' Green said the grass often isn't green in her yard due to a large tree that's planted near her sidewalk as well as mandatory watering restrictions last year following a drought On May 23, as she drove home with her daughter, she was pulled over and asked to step out of her vehicle and she was arrested and booked into the Orient Road Jail Green also was notified of violations including owning a commercial cargo van, which is not the only in her neighborhood, ABC reported. But as she failed to comply with the guidelines and respond to a request for mediation, the HOA filed a lawsuit against her alleging that she violated community appearance rules. Yet as she attempted to represent herself in court, she was told last July by the judge that she had around a month to fix the violations. 'My grass had to be brought up to par. He said you can get seed, you can do something, but you've got 30 days to get it corrected. So I said fine. He said if it's not done in 30 days, you're gonna go to jail,' Green told the outlet. Green said she did what she could to comply, even selling her van and cleaning her mailbox. She bought seed and watered her grass, but missed her next court date and claimed she hadn't been notified to appear at the hearing last August. 'I was supposed to receive documentation. Nothing was sent to my home,' Green said. 'And I reached out to the courthouse several times to try to find out when was my court date.' Green said she did what she could to comply, even selling her van and cleaning her mailbox. She bought seed and watered her grass, but missed her next court date and claimed she hadn't been notified to appear at the hearing last August Yet, the judge ordered that she was in contempt of court and a warrant was issued for her arrest. On May 23, as she drove home with her daughter, she was pulled over and asked to step out of her vehicle. 'He asked me can I get out. When I got out he said, "Ms. green, did you know that you have a warrant for your arrest?"' Green said. She was arrested and booked into the Orient Road Jail, according to ABC News. Yet, she was placed into custody without bond. 'So I couldn't even go home to my family. I sat in there for seven days. Seven days in the jailhouse like a criminal,' she added. Green described the process of being booked into the jail as 'horrible.' 'I work hard to buy this home for me and my kids in a better neighborhood and environment and to be taken to jail and to be treated like that for brown grass at my own home... that's horrible,' she said. She even described being held in jail with other inmates who queried why she was being held in custody. 'One girl, she kind of came over and asked me like "Hey, what are you in here for?" And I told her it was like for my grass,' Green said. 'And she's like 'Oh grass, they should make that stuff legal'. She's thinking that I'm talking about weed and I'm talking about my front yard grass.' Green's sister, a paralegal, filed a petition six-days after she was booked into the jail which requested an emergency hearing. 'I went to court, and I had to be shackled from my hands to my feet,' Green said as she recalled being the only person in county civil court wearing a jail uniform. In court, the HOA's attorney even opposed her release, Green said: 'He says "Well, it hasn't been resodded. The whole yard needs to be re-sodded." And she's like not from those pictures I see. She's like "No. I want her released immediately."' 'He wanted me to continue to sit in jail and not come home to my family,' she added. In a statement to the outlet, the Creek View HOA Board of Directors said: 'Ms. Green received notices of violations. She disregarded them. Legal action was filed by the Association after she failed to accept the offer to mediate the matter, pre-suit, as is required before a lawsuit can be filed...' 'After suit was filed and final judgment was entered against her, Ms. Green showed up for the court hearing on July 11, 2024... At the July 11 hearing, with Ms. Green present, another court date was set by the judge for August 19, 2024. 'She was instructed to comply with the requirements of the final judgment by August 19 and to report to the judge what was accomplished on August 19. Ms. Green failed to show up in court on August 19. 'Her failure to abide by the Court's instruction led to the arrest warrant being steps were taken by the Court due to Ms. Green's failure to comply with the Court's instructions.' While Green was released the next day following her hearing, she said: 'I definitely wish I would have hired a lawyer.'
The Guardian
11 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Musk's X must face claim of negligence over child abuse images, judge rules
A federal appeals court on Friday revived part of a lawsuit accusing Elon Musk's X of becoming a haven for child exploitation, though the court said the platform deserves broad immunity from claims over objectionable content. While rejecting some claims, the ninth US circuit court of appeals in San Francisco said X, formerly Twitter, must face a claim it was negligent by failing to promptly report a video containing explicit images of two underage boys to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The case predated Musk's 2022 purchase of Twitter. A trial judge had dismissed the case in December 2023. X's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Musk was not a defendant. One plaintiff, John Doe 1, said he was 13 when he and a friend, John Doe 2, were lured, on Snapchat, into providing nude photos of themselves to someone John Doe 1 thought was a 16-year-old girl at his school. The Snapchat user was actually a child abuse images trafficker who blackmailed the plaintiffs into providing additional photos. Those images were later compiled into a video that was posted on Twitter. According to court papers, Twitter took nine days after learning about the content to take it down and report it to NCMEC, following more than 167,000 views, court papers showed. Circuit judge Danielle Forrest said section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act, which protects online platforms from liability over user content, did not shield X from the negligence claim once it learned about the images. 'The facts alleged here, coupled with the statutory 'actual knowledge' requirement, separates the duty to report child pornography to NCMEC from Twitter's role as a publisher,' she wrote for a three-judge panel. X must also face a claim its infrastructure made it too difficult to report child abuse images. It was found immune from claims it knowingly benefited from sex trafficking, and created search features that 'amplify' child abuse images posts. Dani Pinter, a lawyer at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, which represented the plaintiffs, said in a statement: 'We look forward to discovery and ultimately trial against X to get justice and accountability.'
Leader Live
36 minutes ago
- Leader Live
AI scams awareness campaign launched in North Wales
The campaign, led by the charity Get Safe Online in collaboration with North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Andy Dunbobbin, aims to help residents use AI safely and confidently this summer. Get Safe Online is a service commissioned by the PCC's office and the police force to provide digital safety information to the public. Mr Dunbobbin, PCC for North Wales, said: "As Police and Crime Commissioner, fighting cybercrime is one of my key priorities and AI is one of the biggest digital and technological innovations of recent years. "It has the power to transform our lives, often for the better. "But with every innovation, there is always a criminal who will try and use it for their own ends, whether that be through fraud, theft, or deception. "As well as using these new technologies, the important thing is for people to educate themselves about the dangers that might be lurking in the shadows. "As the old saying goes, forewarned is forearmed. "That's why I encourage people to follow this new advice from Get Safe Online and stay safe while using the internet and information technology." AI technology now underpins many everyday tools, from virtual assistants to online shopping and entertainment recommendations. While these systems offer convenience, they also present fresh opportunities for cybercriminals. The campaign warns that AI can be used to create convincing scams and other forms of digital deception. To help the public stay safe online, Get Safe Online is sharing practical advice for identifying and avoiding AI-enabled scams. The organisation recommends: Checking the context: Be wary of unsolicited emails, messages, or phone calls, even if they appear professional. If the message seems urgent or too good to be true, it could be a scam. Inspecting the details: AI-generated content may be grammatically correct but could include subtle errors, such as odd email addresses, incorrect logos, or unusual phrasing. In images and videos, look for signs that something is not quite right. Verifying identity independently: Do not trust a message alone. Use a known, trusted method to contact the person or organisation and confirm their identity. Get Safe Online also offers more general guidance for using AI tools responsibly. The charity recommends using AI as an aid rather than a replacement for critical thinking. Users should review and refine content generated by AI, and confirm information using reliable sources. Personal and financial information should not be entered into AI tools, as there is a risk that it could be exposed to others through generative AI or search platforms. Staying informed about AI developments and new scam techniques is also encouraged. Special Constable Dwain Barnes from North Wales Police's Cybercrime Team said: "Although Generative AI has the potential to improve many aspects of society, it can also be used by criminals to author convincing phishing emails, create disinformation for social media posts or generate deepfake images and videos that look realistic, making them very difficult to spot. "AI can also clone a person's voice from a few seconds of audio. "Scammers can therefore use AI to impersonate trusted individuals and trick people into transferring money or revealing sensitive information, for example. "It is therefore more important than ever to double check information to ensure that it is from a trusted source and if you receive unexpected requests or messages which might seem urgent or emotional, take your time and verify that they are genuine by contacting the sender directly using a verified means of contact, not by replying to the message or calling the number back." Mr Barnes also offered additional security tips for the public. READ MORE: Plans submitted to build new Home Bargains store in Flintshire He said: "To help you stay safe, use strong long passwords using three random words, turn on two-step verification for all your accounts and don't share those codes with anyone else. "Be mindful about what you are posting online, scammers can download your content and use it to create deepfakes, so it's advisable to have strong privacy settings on your social media accounts. "Also consider agreeing on a secret word or phrase with your family or team members, you can then use this to confirm that it really is them if something doesn't feel right. "Let's keep spreading the word on how scammers are using AI, it's important for more people to understand how AI deepfakes work, which will make it harder for scammers to succeed." Further information and digital safety advice can be found at
