5 Complicated Science Theories Behind HBO Max’s ‘Westworld’

The first season of the series Western world HBO Max has dazzled viewers and critics alike. The pessimistic version of a world in which artificial intelligence is a hostage and instrument of perverse pleasure was disconcerting. But even more so when it began to concern all sorts of questions about ethics, consciousness and the very condition of existence.

With two parallel timelines and a transition elegant between the concepts of good and evil, the series became a success. And especially when the end foreshadowed that the next seasons would explore a pessimistic future with similar concepts. What society was able to create moderately sensitive creatures to limit them to the cunning game of reality? More worryingly, who was responsible for the large-scale play of information and power?

Perhaps due to its ambition, the second season received mixed reviews. Once the robot uprising happened, the show found itself in the difficult situation of justifying it. What’s more, link it and reconstruct it as a version of the great topics he’s already touched on. But he not only failed to justify himself, but bet on action rather than its known intellectual background. The series left some memorable pop culture episodes, but didn’t reach the level of depth and eloquence of the first installment. Then the main question was what could happen in the third, with Dolores Evan Rachel Wood without ties and restrictions?

The answer was not as shocking, urgent, or ingenious as one might think. That despite the fact that the series has expanded its boundaries and finally showed the world welcoming the island paradise Western world. The radiant futuristic society that has been talked about so many times materialized as a deceptive utopia with a fascist air. The theft of information and its biased use became violent elements that were carefully used in the series. Not so much the rebellion of artificial intelligence against its creators or internal subversion on a terrifying scale.

Fourth season Western world He promises to unify all the previous lines, as well as to connect the state of futuristic fear with something more complex. And this requires the clarification of several of the most difficult and confusing concepts. We leave you with a detailed list of everything you need to know about Westworld and its premise before enjoying its new chapters.

Bicameral reason or the assumption of existence

Much of the first season Western world It was based on penetrating the minds of the park’s host robots. Or, in other words, if artificial intelligence could recognize itself as such. The curious play of mirrors, a traditional part of the science fiction genre, was associated with a complex concept in psychology: the bicameral mind. The premise of the first chapters of the series asked questions about whether androids could contemplate their own life and consciousness. Also acute is the question of when a car can be considered more than a set of parts.

The theory of the bicameral mind was first advanced in Julian Jaynes’ book The Origin of Consciousness in the Decay of the Bicameral Mind. Published in 1976, it contained a study that theorized the possibility that homo sapiens did not know of their existence before 1000 BC. C. Always, according to Jaynes, even after that point in time, mind in formation, the divine has risen as the second voice of identity. That is, as hallucinations or perceptual errors perceived as divine ideas.

During the first season Western worldseries plot explored the slow awareness of androids. But also how Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins) influenced his creations as a kind of total creator. An almost mystical figure whom the owners perceived as empowering and undeniable. The perception of the bicameral mind has been taken to a whole new level.

Turing test

For most of the first and second seasons Western world, the program included hints of the Turing test in its argument. Based on the work of mathematician Alan Turing, the test is designed to demonstrate the intelligence of a machine. Or, at any rate, how close he is in his analytical processes to a human being. A scientific resource that is very common these days, He is part of several science fiction plots. But in Westworld it takes on an unsettling meaning, linking creator control, fear, and mastery over masters to a test in the same premise.

In fact, in both the first and second seasons, the Turing test (or a variation of it) is a turning point between the characters. The questions and answers that the robots are subjected to reveal hidden intent. It is knowing how aware an artificial intelligence is, a prisoner in the park of its existence, as well as measuring its sensitivity and reasoning. The test suite shows Ford, the creator of the park, that the mental evolution of his robots is complete. Which triggers the events of the last chapter of the first season and part of the second part.

uncanny valley theory

In 1970, the scientist Masahiro Mori created the so-called “uncanny valley theory”, with which he tried to explain the future relationship between robots and humans. With the help of the hypothesis, Maury explored the possibility of a person’s reaction to his mechanical creations. In addition, he analyzed that as the creation of robots or artificial intelligence became more human-like, will cause a strange psychological effect. One that would cause rejection, discomfort, and even bewilderment and fear in the human brain.

Western world uses the theory in the third season. In it, Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) proposes the idea of ​​robotic supremacy. In fact, the concept is subtly parsed when the character appreciates her existence and makes it clear that she is “hated” for being an android. Gradually, the series deepens, emphasizes and explores the idea of ​​a relationship between humans and robots. And it leaves in the backing the feeling that in better conditions they would be afraid of robberies. At worst, it is considered a threat. A new dimension of Mori’s theory.

Collective mind or controlled

According to the science fiction genre, the collective or controlled mind involves close and coordinated cooperation between people who, as a rule, could not do this. This is the idea that a single master or central mind controls the personality or any element that gives personality to other beings. Control can be total or, at best, conscious.

predictive algorithm

A prediction algorithm is a mathematical representation that translates a fact of reality into data to predict when it will happen again. Or at least in what form or under what aspects it will take place. The prediction can include from processes to specific behaviors of people with the help of available information.

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In the third season of the series Western world, Incite Inc uses data as a way to predict collective behavior. This, in turn, allows you to control people in the most efficient way. So the world of Westworld is actually a massive representation of the park. And one that is far more elaborate and complex than its first season might suggest.