A US man who was shot dead in a road rage incident nearly 4 years ago reincarnated on Monday via artificial intelligence to deliver a message to his killer in an Arizona courtroom. According to the New York Post, Christopher Pelkey was gunned down by Gabriel Horcasitas in 2021 following a dispute. Horcasitas, 50, was found guilty of manslaughter for shooting Mr Pelkey, 37, to death when he approached his car during a road rage incident in 2021. On Monday, four years after his demise, Pelkey appeared in the courtroom to deliver a victim impact statement through an eerie AI video played by his family.
In the clip, Mr Pelkey's digital resurrection wore a logoless grey baseball cap, an olive green zipper hoodie and a full beard. His AI version spoke to the court audience and his killer. "To Gabriel Horcasitas, the man who shot me: it is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances," the artificial rendition of Mr Pelkey said, per the Post.
"In another life, we probably could have been friends.. I believe in forgiveness and God who forgives. I always have, and still do," the AI version of Mr Pelkey added.
The video also featured a "real" photograph Mr Pelkey took when he was still alive that was then run through an "old age" filter. "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 digital version of Mr Pelkey said. "Remember, getting old is a gift that not everybody has, so embrace it and stop worrying about those wrinkles," it added.
Judge Todd Lang was deeply moved by Mr Pelkey's digital resurrection. "I love that AI," he said, before giving the defendant 10-and-a-half years for his role in Mr Pelkey's death.
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According to the Post, Mr Pelkey's sister wrote the script for the AI video. She said that the idea behind this was to give her brother a voice in his own manslaughter case. "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'," Stacey Wales said.
"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," she added.
