The film takes you to 2029. Imagine the future—with the AI brawl rising, every bit of our lives is now being checked and filtered by AI. Nothing to be hush-hush about it, it’s similar to every technology-driven era, where the tech takes over, whether we demand it or not. The film Mercy showcases a situation that reflects what our future could possibly look like. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov and distributed by Amazon MGM Studios, the film stars Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson.
Here, we see a justice system completely managed by AI. Think how dangerously grand that could be in the near future. The tension, the cruelty, the upright judgements and emotionless interactions show in the film, with Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson delivering the perfect performances, carrying the film with a momentum we could feel in and out. The story follows Detective Chris Raven, played by Chriss Pratt, who is accused of murdering his wife. He must now prove his innocence within 90 minutes, or else he shall be executed.
What intensifies the narrative is the suffocating surveillance Raven endures. He stands trial before Judge Maddox, played by Rebecca Ferguson, who is an AI entity serving as judge, jury, and executioner in one. Raven must navigate a vast digital network of surveillance and data to establish his innocence before the AI renders its irrevocable judgment. Do you realise the harrowing ultimatum? It is so confined that whoever is watching shall feel their lungs burning in and out.
Somewhere, we feel that the film suggests a cautionary tale of what awaits humanity if we relinquish our autonomy to algorithmic authority—and we are already heading towards it. I read somewhere on someone’s post recently where it says ‘your algorithm is your embodiment,’ while the user put it out on an enlightening perspective, but there is a darker side to it as well. Mercy illustrates how quickly our world could spiral into dystopia—a reality in which AI wields absolute power over human consciousness, rendering verdicts devoid of empathy, nuance, or even the moral complexity we behold.
Another aspect of it is that when we make the machines the only arbiters of our fates, we let go of what we know of justice in the basics—compassion and context. So the film makes us confront ourselves, asking whether we are sacrificing freedom to unfeeling logic that might never understand the intricacies of human experience.
