Extra Post- Westworld's Rehoboam

         

HBO's hit series Westworld has captivated a large following over the past several years for its boldness to explore complex philosophical themes in an action-packed manner. I won't spoil much more, because witnessing the series firsthand without any prior context made my viewing experience well worth it. The first 15-20 minutes of the pilot episode were enough to get me hooked. 

*Again, no spoilers* 

The third season features a superintelligent A.I. unit called Rehoboam. Rehoboam was created by Incite, a futuristic tech company which has infiltrated every corner of society and holds massive amounts of data points about all of the world's citizens. The name "Rehoboam" is a reference to the Bible in which king Rehoboam was appointed over Israel yet struggled being faithful to God's will in his leadership over the Israelites. It was only when Rehoboam obeyed God's commands that his people prospered. 

                

The purpose of Rehoboam is to establish control in the world through its "strategies" which makes that happen. Based on all sorts of personal data, Rehoboam predicts the future by analytically putting people on the right path for an optimal world. Some shots in the show cut back to a circle (pictured above) which demonstrates the world's upholding of the strategies. The smaller the circle is, the better the world is doing. Any occurrence which deviates from those strategies is known as a "divergence" and the sphere begins to expand (pictured below). 

         

The system inspires the questioning of an illusion of free will, a popular theme in Westworld. This trailer for season three demonstrates how the events of the previous two seasons as well as fictional worldwide events throw a total wrench into Rehoboam's strategies (again, not going to spoil it. You really should watch it!) 

                          

This next video bills Incite as an optimization company for the world's citizens. It also makes them feel as though THEY are in control with their data and how Incite uses it according to its fictional CEO Liam Dempsey. 

                             

The quotes "The future is powered by you. And we know you" as well as Incite's slogan "If data is destiny, then you chart your path" are both particularly relevant to today's giant tech companies. They sound a lot like "google knows your search history" or "don't be evil." 

              

 This technology also eerily reminded me of the China social credit system which was featured in the Age of A.I. documentary. Similar features of China's system are shared by Rehoboam/Incite, including future prospects, bank loan credits, and ineligibility for certain jobs. However, unlike China the people in Westworld do not know about Rehoboam's strategies/control over their life's path. They believe they are acting on their own free will and that all of life's outcomes simply happen. 

I think a Rehoboam system could frighteningly happen in today's world, since people (particularly Americans) are increasingly pivoting to be against Big Tech/Big Data due to a violation of privacy. We don't know just how many data points are on file at the big tech databases right now which are formulating every advertisement or search suggestion. For all we know, there could be a Rehoboam-type system out there right now...

Hope you watch Westworld! It's available streaming on HBO Max. The first two seasons are even better than season three. 

Sources:

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-game-of-life-visualizing-chinas-social-credit-system/ 

https://time.com/collection/davos-2019/5502592/china-social-credit-score/