What would you do if your fate were in the hands of a computer?
This is what Chris Pratt is up against as Detective Chris Raven in the new film Mercy, which explores a world in the future where law and order are determined through a judge that operates on artificial intelligence technology.
Chris Pratt explores AI’s reflection of human flaws
“AI is a man-made creation, and it’s now operating on its own and learning from humans how to behave, and in that regard, that’s dangerous because human beings are broken and flawed,” Pratt told Blavity’s Shadow and Act. “And so for AI to look at us as the deities from which it learns values, it’s no wonder it’s propagated to a more manic, paranoid, hypervitriolic society — because it’s looking at human beings as its master.”
He added, “I think for us as human beings to display empathy, to learn from our mistakes and move forward, if it could learn from our better angels, then it’s going to be better AI, and so I’m always cautiously optimistic about the future with AI because I believe in humanity. I believe that humanity is a net positive in the end, that AI will contribute to moving humanity in the right direction.”
In the case of Pratt’s character, Officer Chris Raven, there’s a time crunch for him to prove his innocence in the murder of his wife, or else he will be put to death via the executioner’s chair upon which he sits in the Mercy Courthouse.
Kali Reis on rule-breaking and navigating moral gray areas
True Detective: Night Country star Kali Reis, known as KO Mequinonag, is a former six-time world champion across the middle-weight and light-welterweight weight classes. With a professional record of 19-7-1, Reis is no stranger to being in a world that is governed by rules, consequences and respect, which she lends to her character, Detective Jacqueline “Jaq” Diallo, Pratt’s partner in the film. Jaq attempts to navigate a version of justice that doesn’t mean the same to everyone.
“I took a lot of time with Jaq’s backstory, and I didn’t even think — until you said it — how the rules and regulations apply, from boxing to how she navigates the world. In Jaq’s backstory, she’s had these rules in front of her, and she’s seen them broken right in front of her eyes, and she’s been on the other side of it, like, injustice,” Reis said. “So as far as she’s concerned, she was going to spend the rest of her life making sure that rules were followed, whatever’s best for the collective. Because she didn’t want anybody else around her — especially where she is, and having such a love and passion for the career that she took, path that she chose, that was a career path that she told us that she could be most effective in, what she believed in.”
She added, “So as far as the rules and regulations are concerned, her moral compass sometimes goes against what the rules are. But she’s one who shifts her moral compass in order to fit those rules and regulations, what she thinks is just. I love the contrast with the thoughts of her, because there’s a lot that goes very, very deep with her. It was fun to play around with the decisions I know I wouldn’t have made, me as Kali. Jaq is solid in her decisions, and she doesn’t really — she has blinders on, and whoever is affected, as long as justice is served, in her eyes, she’s good with it.”
Mercy is in theaters now.