We Are Cooked

Overview

The video commentary focuses on a high-profile Arizona case involving the use of an AI-generated video in court as part of a victim impact statement.

What happened / the core issue

• Chris Pelkey was killed in a 2021 roadside shooting after a traffic dispute.
• His family created an AI-generated video that recreated Chris’s appearance and voice.
• In the video, an AI avatar addresses the court, Chris’s family, and the shooter, Gabriel Horcasitas, and expresses forgiveness.
• The video was shown in court and was described as having a strong emotional impact on the judge during sentencing.

Why the speaker argues it should not be allowed

• The narrator strongly condemns using AI-generated representations of a deceased person as court evidence, describing it as:
  • “dystopian”
  • “disgusting”
  • not “real proof”
• The argument is that, even if the family’s intent is to convey grief or forgiveness, an AI avatar cannot truthfully represent what the victim “would have said,” which the speaker says violates requirements that evidence be legitimate, authentic, and reliable.
• The speaker frames the practice as creating a “recipe for disaster” for the judicial system, warning it could be widely misused going forward.

Legal outcome / why the sentence is being revisited

• Horcasitas received a maximum sentence of 10.5 years.
• The narrator notes the trial judge appeared emotionally affected by the AI forgiveness video.
• Later, an Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that using the AI video during the victim-impact process was unfair and that reliance on it violated due process.
• As a result, the sentence was overturned, and the case will proceed to retrial/re-sentencing (while the underlying verdict remains effective).

The narrator’s take on the family’s decision

• The narrator expresses sympathy for the Pelkey family’s loss.
• However, they argue the family’s decision to submit AI-created speech is misguided because it can only provide grounds for appeal—potentially helping the defendant.
• The family indicates they may submit similar or updated AI impact materials again in future proceedings, which the narrator criticizes as repeating an approach that appellate courts already found problematic.

Presenters / contributors

• Stacey Wales (Christopher Pelkey’s older sister)
• Gabriel Horcasitas (defendant)
• Chris(ter) Pelkey / Christopher Pelkey (victim)
• Todd (appears to be another speaker referenced in the transcript)
• Josh Coles (Phoenix attorney quoted)
• Troy Kriebel (named in the transcript as a contributor/mention)
• Matt Walker Sr. / Walker Sr. (named in the transcript)
• Gabriel Horcasitas’s team / defense (referred to, but not individually named)