Pre-Crime (2017) (Digibook)

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What if the murder of tomorrow could be prevented today?

To predict a future crime scene and to prevent a murder seems like something from a sci-fi movie. It is, but it’s also real – and happening right now. To make this possible, powerful computers and omnipresent cameras capture data from all sources, which is then evaluated and analyzed with the help of algorithms. At the same time, we, the citizens are transformed into carriers of recorded data – our every move, message and purchase tracked and mapped. Ratings of how likely we are to commit a crime are attached to our personae. Computers spit out lists of tomorrow´s criminals. But what if it´s you who ends up on this list? What if the data is wrong? Or biased?? How can we be guilty of things we haven’t done?

PRE-CRIME travels to Chicago, London, Paris, Berlin, Munich and other places to show predictive policing techniques in action, to investigate their opportunities and dangers and to meet people who use them and those who have been victims of them. Who is – and who isn’t – protected by the algorithm?

The film exposes the creators of this technology, how they work and who really benefits from their invention. We are the first generation to hand over to computers the control over our own freedom. But how much freedom are we prepared to give up for the promise of total security?

PRE-CRIME is a wake up call for all of us. A science fiction scenario, both fascinating and scary, has arrived in our everyday life. Welcome to the real Minority Report.