AI is showing up in trials – but only a human jury can grapple with the moral significance of determining guilt

“Mercy,” a film released in January 2026, depicts a dystopian Los Angeles in the near future: a city rife with violence, homelessness and unrest. California is responding by creating the Mercy Capital Court, run entirely by an AI bot named Judge Maddox. The judge can analyze evidence, determine whether the guilt threshold has been reached, and execute the defendant – all in a matter of 90 minutes.

Actor Chris Pratt plays a police officer named Chris Raven who is accused of murdering his wife. If he wants to leave Mercy Court alive, he must do everything he can to lower his “guilty score” – the AI’s assessment of whether he is the murderer – from 97.5% to 92%.

AI judges may still be in the realm of science fiction, but AI tools are making their way into the courtroom. Risk assessment tools now help judges make bail decisions, and lawyers and judges have used AI to research legal precedents. Some judges are even experimenting with it to…