The distressing narrative of Westworld is only pertinent to us IF we can consider the hosts as conscious beings. I will look at how the fictional story sends us messages such as “power corrupts” and “anonymity removes consequences of action” these I will tie into how potential expression of objectification and dehumanization, the bias against race and social class in technology, and how the commodification of the human experience through data tracking have real-world analogies in our own lives. I will look at how the “elite” in power are depicted, in relation to how they treat the human simulacra that are the hosts, who are treated as the “other”. Having set some of the background lore of Westworld, in this paper I will look at the signs and signifiers presented in the series that relate to socio-economic imbalances of power and examine them in relation to questions we mulled over in class this semester. Industrial bots have no biotech nor consciousness like those in Westworld. These commercial robots are only revealed in Season 3, which will only be mentioned in passing as this paper focuses on the consciousness narrative of Seasons 1 & 2. Outside of Westworld, the focus is on robots that serve Agricultural, Construction/Industrial production, and Law Enforcement/Riot Control purposes. Delos also is a major producer of industrial robots that bear no resemblance to those of Westworld. The robots are presented as advanced machines, not persons. There are also techs that reclaim “dead” or damaged robots and repair them to return to service after erasure. The staff consists of various humans that create narratives, program robot cognition and behavior, and test them. Under the name of Delos Destinations, each park is outfitted with bio-robots that are called “livestock”. Delos not only owns Westworld, but also a series of themed parks that are all based on times and cultures affected by conquest such as The Raj (colonized India under British rule), Shogun World (the isolationist and feudal Edo period in Japan), and Warworld (Nazi Italian occupation in WW2)…all expressions of glorified power. It is owned by a company called Delos Incorporated. It is populated with very human looking and acting AIs that are partially biological, being “printed” out of biological tissue with a computer core as a “brain”, called a “pearl”. As stated, the world we are concerned with is presented to us as a wonder of modern technology, a place of entertainment and fun, for even the most competitive individual seeking a challenge. I wish to warn you that this paper gives spoilers! That said… Westworld is based on a movie from the 70s, itself based on a Michael Crichton novel. This is no accident, as Westworld presents to us a poignant metaphor pointing to the socio-economic imbalances of power in the real world we live in, becoming increasingly obvious as a growing concern to our own lives. These “gamer” guests are also shown to be VERY powerful people, identified at various points as “Titans of Industry” who are shown to engage not only in extremely socially unacceptable behavior “in game”, but also in the real world pursuit of more power, as “…monetized life removes some of the incentives for people to adhere to social and ethical norms.” (Eisenstein 210). The show also focuses closely on a few such guests who are what we might consider to be analogous to “hardcore gamers” in today’s world – they focus on the conquest, exploration to extremes, and on exploiting every aspect possible within the game of their chosen narratives. This HBO sci-fi show presents Westworld to us as an amusement park of a higher order, an exorbitant, costly vacation playground in which the world’s elite class can play out whatever kind of adventure they can imagine in a world based on the American Old West of the 1800s. Note: The best metadata management tools are listed in alphabetical order.Westworld is a fantasy world. We’ve also included platform and product line names and introductory software tutorials straight from the source so you can see each solution in action. To make your search a little easier, we’ve profiled the best Metadata Management tools and solutions all in one place. Choosing the right vendor and solution can be a complicated process - one that requires in-depth research and often comes down to more than just the solution and its technical capabilities. The editors at Solutions Review have developed this resource to assist buyers in search of the best metadata management tools to fit the needs of their organization. Information was gathered via online materials and reports, conversations with vendor representatives, and examinations of product demonstrations and free trials. Solutions Review’s listing of the best metadata management tools is an annual sneak peek of the top tools included in our Buyer’s Guide for Metadata Management and Data Cataloging Tools.
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