The trial was over in a few minutes. There was no need for a jury, or for witnesses. As the defendant cried and pleaded his case, the stone-faced judge only had to tap a few keys on the keyboard to bring up the appropriate CCTV footage of the incident.

Every single argument made by the defendant was shot down expertly with a simple turn of the dial to pan and zoom into the high definition video footage. There was no angle left uncovered, no detail left unnoticed, no rock left unturned with the nationwide surveillance program.

Finally, the defendant turned quiet. He had exhausted all his energy and spirit. Defeated, he listened to the judge deliver the sentence.

“The video footage of the day shows that at 1.23am, you with your daughter on your back first jaywalked across the road, potentially endangering others. Then, at 1.34am, you aggressively pushed past an old lady who was blocking your way in a narrow alley, causing her to stumble and fall. Finally, at 1.45am, you lashed out at the doctor and nurses in the hospital, accusing them of not saving your daughter in time. Do you agree?”

The defendant mouthed a silent “yes”.

Unable to hear a verbal reply, the robotic judge used its image recognition software inbuilt into its single camera eye to interpret the defendant’s unspoken word.

“Do you then plead guilty to the following charges of jaywalking, causing bodily harm, and slander that carries a total charge of three months of community sentence and a $500 fine?”

A single tear trickled down the defendant’s cheek. His lips trembled as he hung his head.

High above him, a board hung on the wall with the motto “Towards a Safer, Lawful World.” But to the defendant standing in that cold and clinical room devoid of humanity, nothing mattered anymore in this world.