'Mercy' offers scary cautionary take on AI

'Mercy' offers scary cautionary take on AI We are in the midst of the age of artificial intelligence. It's becoming prevalent, even commonplace. The newly released film "Mercy" highlights the obvious limitations and flaws of letting a computer program make momentous decisions, like who deserves to live and who deserves to die. "Mercy" can be seen now only in theaters. It's a time of unrest in the country, specifically Los Angeles. Crime is at an all-time high, drug use is rampant. Parts of the city have been designated as red zones, areas no one should venture into because they are so crime ridden and dangerous. Into this reality the city leaders introduced a new program to fight crime. Mercy is an AI system of justice. It is judge, jury and executioner. Every citizen in the city is required to grant the government, aka Mercy, access to all their electronics, including computers, surveillance cameras and cell phones – a massive invasion of personal privacy. Mercy then collects all available data surrounding a murder and analyzes the results to determine the perpetrator. LAPD Detective Chris Raven (Chris Pratt) wakes strapped to a chair in an empty room. He is greeted on a screen by Judge Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson), an AI judge. She has reviewed all the relevant data and determined that there is a 97.5% chance that Raven murdered his wife, Nicole (Annabelle Wallis). Despite Raven's disorientation upon waking and his disbelief that his wife has actually been murdered, Judge Maddox begins his trial and gives Raven 90 minutes to prove his innocence, or to at least drop his guilt probability under 92%. Judge Maddox gives Raven access to all the information and data available to her. He needs to produce evidence – facts – that reduce his guilt probability, as calculated by Mercy. If not, Raven will be executed at the end of the 90 minutes. Raven is a detective, the detective who sent the first defendant to the Mercy court, so he has skills and contacts that might help him. But he only has 90 minutes to prove his case, all while strapped to a chair. There's no doubt that this is a bit of an unusual concept. A man has only 90 minutes to prove his innocence to a computer program or he will be executed. The story sounds a bit far-fetched, but is it really? We rely on AI every day in almost everything we do. From medical treatment, to what TV shows we watch, to what stories appear on our Facebook feed, to assistance writing coherent sentences in emails, AI is everywhere. Some claim that "Mercy" glorifies the use of AI, that the film is nothing more than a propaganda piece for its proponents. I don't see it that way, not at all. In fact, I believe "Mercy" is a cautionary tale in the use of AI. It's a warning, a clear shot across the bow that we must control and contain the spread of AI or it will start costing lives. It's scary. As for the story itself, I wouldn't say watching a man strapped to a chair watching videos and making calls is exactly riveting. But it is interesting, to a degree. The story is a mystery, though the villain was fairly obvious from the beginning. The plot is less about who the culprit is, and more about how the culprit is unmasked. This is not a movie that's about the acting performances. Rebecca Ferguson was creepy at times as the face of the Mercy program and she is a great actress. But all she gets to do is talk on a screen. Chris Pratt is, for whatever reason, somewhat of a divisive figure. As far as this movie goes, he probably performs as well as could be expected for someone strapped into a chair while he investigates his wife's murder. "Mercy" is as good as any movie has a right to be that features an AI judge, jury and executioner with the condemned provided only 90 minutes to prove his innocence or die. This movie provides exactly what you would expect from that brief plot description. Go with your gut, if it sounds good to you, then you will probably like it. If it sounds dumb to you, then stay away. Grade: B-Rated PG-13 for violence, bloody images, some strong language, drug content and teen smoking. ••• Bradley Griffith is a local attorney and longtime film buff. WATCH the film's official trailer.