this post was submitted on 08 May 2025
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578
A Judge Accepted AI Video Testimony From a Dead Man (www.404media.co)
submitted 4 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
106 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

An AI avatar made to look and sound like the likeness of a man who was killed in a road rage incident addressed the court and the man who killed him: “To Gabriel Horcasitas, the man who shot me, it is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances,” the AI avatar of Christopher Pelkey said. “In another life we probably could have been friends. I believe in forgiveness and a God who forgives. I still do.”

It was the first time the AI avatar of a victim—in this case, a dead man—has ever addressed a court, and it raises many questions about the use of this type of technology in future court proceedings. 

The avatar was made by Pelkey’s sister, Stacey Wales. Wales tells 404 Media that her husband, Pelkey’s brother-in-law, recoiled when she told him about the idea. “He told me, ‘Stacey, you’re asking a lot.’”

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[–] [email protected] 155 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The worse is everybody knows, including the judge, but they still chose to accept it.

[–] [email protected] 87 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Reading a bit more, during the sentencing phase in that state people making victim impact statements can choose their format for expression, and it's entirely allowed to make statements about what other people would say. So the judge didn't actually have grounds to deny it.
No jury during that phase, so it's just the judge listening to free form requests in both directions.

It's gross, but the rules very much allow the sister to make a statement about what she believes her brother would have wanted to say, in whatever format she wanted.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 days ago

Thanks for the additional context.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago

It's a little weird that they get to speak for the dead like that