People just can’t stop using generative AI tools in legal proceedings, despite repeated pushback from frustrated judges. While AI initially appeared in courtrooms through bogus “hallucinated” cases the trend has taken a turn—driven by increasingly sophisticated AI video and audio tools. In some instances, AI is even being used to seemingly bring victims back from the dead.
This week, a crime victim’s family presented a brief video in an Arizona courtroom depicting an AI version of 37-year-old Chris Pelkey. Pelkey was shot and killed in 2021 in a road rage incident. Now, four years later, the AI-generated “clone” appeared to address his alleged killer in court. The video, first reported by local outlet ABC15, appears to be the first known example of a generative AI deepfake used in a victim impact statement.
“To Gabriel Horcasitas, the man who shot me, it is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances,” the AI replica of Pelkey says in the video. “In another life, we probably could have been friends.”
The video shows the AI version of Pelkey—a burly, bearded Army veteran—wearing a green hoodie and gray baseball cap. Pelkey’s family reportedly created the video by training an AI model on various clips of Pelkey. An “old age” filter was then applied to simulate what Pelkey might look like today. In the end, the judge sentenced Horcasitas to 10.5 years in prison for manslaughter, a decision he said was at least partly influenced by the AI-generated impact statement.
“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 Pelkey deepfake said. “Remember, getting old is a gift that not everybody has, so embrace it and stop worrying about those wrinkles.”
A New York man used an AI deepfake to help argue his…
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