House of Lords, House of God, House of AI Generated Homicide Victims
We're going to be in Finland and Berlin!
AI’m Sorry
In 2021, Gabriel Horcasitas shot Christopher Pelkey dead in a road rage incident. After the jury found Horcasitas guilty, family and friends were able to share statements about how this death has affected them.
While struggling to write her own impact statement, Pelkey's sister decided to submit an AI-generated video statement in which an avatar made to look and sound like Pelkey spoke. While his sister wrote the script, the visuals and audio were generated with AI. This avatar spoke of forgiving his killer and that in another life, they would've been friends.
The response?
"I love the beauty in what Christopher, and I call him Christopher—I always call people by their last names, it's a formality of the court—but I feel like calling him Christopher as we've gotten to know him today. I feel that that was genuine, because obviously the forgiveness of Mr. Horcasitas reflects the character I heard about today." - Judge Todd Lang, from the case.
It's one thing for loved ones to claim to know what the deceased would have wanted. Writing a script and having an animation speak on their behalf is whole other things. There are some very complicated personal and political implications for victims here.
As discussed on the 404 Media Podcast, this is an unprecedented inclusion of AI in a court, an industry struggling to know what to do with AI.
It also feels erie in the era of True Crime has done an immense amount of damage to how the public handles violent cases. Whilst we're definitely seeing the popularity of this genre calm down, there is still a flurry of interest. Just take the case of Nicola Bulley from a few years ago whose family specifically mentioned the flurry of TikTok investigations/harassers. I dread to think of the road where generating videos of the victims beyond the grave will lead us to.
Copy that
This month, the latest battle for copyright law was updated in the House of Commons. It was once again left to the House of Lords (yes, that unelected court) to protect artists' rights in the UK. The amendment tabled by crossbench peer Beeban Kidron requires AI companies to reveal which copyrighted material is used in their models. This was passed by the House of Lords 272 votes to 125, but our LABOUR government doesn't support a bill that strengthens LABOUR RIGHTS. Huh.
As the bill ping pongs back to the House of Commons, we'll see if this amendment is kept in. Currently, the government is fighting for an "opt out" model in which artists have to declare that they do not want their work shared with a training model. But even a source close to the tech secretary, Peter Kyle, said this month that the "opt out" scenario was no longer his preferred option.
Pope o clock
I watched Convclave and enjoyed Gossip Girl: Vatican edition. So this month, I could sit back amongst millions of others and explain the importance of the smoke signals when the very real Conclave took place. And how did this traditional and private ritual and tradition collide with the internet?
Well, enter Pope Crave, the Pop Crave parody turned Convcalve update source. They gave an amazing interview to PRWeek about how they prepare for this week of a real-life conclave. Highlights include:
"There are a few Italian "Pope Cravers" whom they fondly refer to as their "on-the-ground correspondents," that share intel from Vatican City."
"We're going to have memes on lock depending on who the new pope is. If the new pope is good: fancams. If we're not sure about it, maybe nothing," she added. "We're going to be on the ball. One of us will be awake at all times. We'll be on shifts like this is the army, except it's the Conclave."
Whilst the Conclave didn't get me very excited, the idea that this pope is pro-labour rights and tech-critical is an interesting direction for one of the oldest and followed institutions in the world.
One more thing:
The Studio on Apple TV is one of the best comedies of recent years, and I loved hearing them discuss it on The New Yorker's Critics at Large.
An internet deep dive led me to the history behind Don't Copy the Floppy
Studio updates 🌸
This month, you can find us at The World Village Festival (Helsinki) and re:publica (Berlin)!
We're part of Talent25, a new award recognising five trailblazing artists based at Somerset House. We're undergoing R&D to explore digital legacy and death online and will showcase our work in September 2025. If you're interested, get in touch!