Should AI give you a voice? Even when you've been murdered?An AI avatar of a murder victim addressed his killer in court last week, and it may have been the first admittance of an AI-generated victim impact statement in a US court. Chris Pelkey, who was shot in a road rage incident in 2021, was recreated in a video made by his sister to offer forgiveness to his killer. This could mark the start of a new relationship between AI and the law, but will it change the relationship between us and the law? And what are the broader impacts we might see on our culture? Brittany sits down with NPR digital news reporter Juliana Kim and Brandon Blankenship, assistant professor and director of the pre-law program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, to find out.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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Hello, hello. I'm Brittany Luce, and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR, a show about what's going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident. Hello. The other day I was scrolling NPR's homepage and I saw a story that absolutely stopped me in my tracks. An AI video of a manslaughter victim was used to address his killer in a court of law.
Hello. Just to be clear for everyone seeing this, I am a version of Chris Pelkey recreated through AI that uses my picture and my voice profile.
So I called up NPR digital news reporter Juliana Kim to learn more about what happened.
So back in 2021, a man named Christopher Pelkey was shot and killed in a road rage incident. His case initially went to court in 2023, but it had to be retried because of some procedural issues. And it's why it took until this month for the man who shot him to face sentencing.
And during this whole time, Christopher's sister, Stacey Wales, had been mulling over what she would say in her victim impact statement, which is a chance for loved ones to talk about their grief before the judge hands down a sentence.
What would you say if you only had one last chance to speak up for your brother, to sum up a life?
She told me that while she was at a loss for words, it was clear what her brother would say. So she asked her husband and their business partner, both of whom have experience using AI, to help. Her plea was this.
This whole trial is about him, because of him, and for him. And he doesn't get a say? He doesn't get a chance to speak? We have to give him a voice.
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