ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AUTHORITY AND HUMAN DECISION-MAKING: AN ANALYSIS OF THE FILM “MERCY” (2026) FROM A COMMUNICATION PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This study aims to examine the representations of artificial intelligence systems in the film *Mercy* (2026) regarding human decision-making, human-machine interaction, and communication processes. The increasing prevalence of AI-supported decision-making systems across various social domains makes it crucial to understand how these systems establish authority within decision-making processes. The film’s textual content was used as the data source in the research; the document analysis technique was employed during the data collection process, and the data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The analysis revealed five themes: the construction of AI authority, a data-driven reality framework, the ethical, emotional, and intuitive dimensions of human decision-making, a human-machine interaction model, and the fragility of AI authority. The findings indicate that although artificial intelligence is portrayed as a powerful decision-making authority in the film, it is positioned in interaction with human reasoning, and decision-making processes are not reduced solely to algorithmic calculations. Consequently, the study demonstrates that AI-supported decision-making systems must be evaluated not only for their technical aspects but also for their communicative and ethical dimensions.