'Mercy', a science fiction film that addresses the possible judicial use of AI

Movies about the applications of artificial intelligence are increasingly popular. A new one was recently released.

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"Mercy" (released in Spain as "Sin piedad") is a film set in the near future in Los Angeles, California, a city plagued by serious problems of marginalization and crime, where artificial intelligence offers a way to deliver swift justice. The film was directed by Timur Bekmambetov and stars Chris Pratt as an LAPD detective who becomes subjected to the very digitized judicial process he helped to implement.

I must confess that I went to see the film mainly because of Chris Pratt; he's an actor I particularly like. The trailer didn't impress me much, and the reviews I saw were rather lukewarm, but the film turned out better than I expected. Pratt is excellent in the lead role, and the Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson (pictured below) also gives a good performance as the AI ​​that makes the judgments.

The film can serve as a reflection on the potential use of AI in the administration of justice. Certainly, the film shows that it would be capable of handling vast amounts of information much faster than a human judge, but the question remains: at what cost? Furthermore, the film also serves to question the death penalty, an extreme punishment that may seem appropriate for the most dangerous and ruthless criminals, but which carries within it a colossal risk: what happens if a defendant is unjustly convicted?

All in all, I found it an entertaining film and worth watching, though not an exceptional one. Here's the trailer:

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Images: Sony Pictures.