In
an
era
increasingly
shaped
by
artificial
intelligence,
Mercy
asks
a
provocative
question:
what
happens
when
technology
becomes
judge,
jury,
and
executioner?
For
Rebecca
Ferguson,
who
plays
an
AI
judge
in
the
upcoming
sci-fi
thriller,
the
film
feels
unsettlingly
close
to
reality.
“Playing
Judge
Maddox,
an
AI
who
is
on
the
cusp
of
human
understanding
–
so
near
to
consciousness
and
yet
light
years
away
from
being
human
–
brings
up
many
interesting
questions,”
Ferguson
says.
“We
expect
accuracy
from
technology,
but
more
and
more
we
need
to
question
what
the
online
world
is
telling
us.”
Set
in
a
near
future
where
human
courts
have
been
replaced
by
an
AI-run
justice
system,
Mercy
unfolds
almost
entirely
within
a
high-stakes
trial.
Evidence
is
pulled
not
from
witnesses
or
lawyers,
but
from
a
vast
digital
archive
the
film
calls
the
“LA
Municipal
Cloud”
–
a
system
that
stores
everything
from
surveillance
footage
to
personal
device
recordings.
For
Ferguson,
the
role
wasn’t
about
playing
a
machine,
but
exploring
the
illusion
of
objectivity
that
technology
often
promises.
Her
AI
judge
is
designed
to
be
neutral,
data-driven,
and
emotionless
–
yet
the
film
slowly
challenges
the
idea
that
such
purity
can
truly
exist.
“Artificial
Intelligence
is
a
fantastic
tool,
but
it
should
always
be
just
that
–
a
tool
to
aid
humans,
not
an
alternative
to
humans,”
Ferguson
says.
“This
film
highlights
some
of
the
ways
relying
on
AI
could
go
very
wrong.”
Directed
by
Timur
Bekmambetov,
Mercy
experiments
not
just
with
ideas
but
with
form.
Much
of
the
film’s
evidence
is
presented
through
phone
footage,
body
cams,
drone
cameras,
and
surveillance
feeds,
reflecting
a
world
where
almost
every
moment
is
recorded
and
stored.
The
result
is
a
thriller
that
feels
deeply
embedded
in
the
digital
reality
audiences
already
inhabit.
At
the
centre
of
that
world
stands
Ferguson’s
Judge
Maddox
–
calm,
composed,
and
eerily
authoritative.
As
the
AI
begins
to
exhibit
traces
of
something
resembling
empathy,
the
film
pushes
viewers
to
confront
uncomfortable
questions
about
trust,
truth,
and
control
in
the
age
of
algorithms.
“We’re
handing
over
so
much
power
to
systems
we
don’t
fully
understand,”
Ferguson
notes.
“And
that’s
where
the
danger
lies.”
Sony
Pictures
Entertainment
and
Amazon
MGM
Studios
releases
Mercy
on
23rd
January,
2026
in
English
and
Hindi