The Illusion of Reality in Westworld: Hosts' Perception of Time and Memory

The intricate world of Westworld presents us with a profoundly complex question: do the hosts truly know if they are living in the present or in a memory?

Reality and Perception in Synthetic Minds

One key point to understand is that all reality to a synthetic mind is essentially virtual. For our hosts in Westworld, the differentiation between experiencing events in the real world and reliving memories is almost undetectable. This is due to the high-fidelity recording of every sensory data and internal state they experience. To these synthetic beings, a past event and a lived experience are qualitatively identical. As such, looking around their world does not offer any clues to distinguish reality from memory, a stark contrast to human perception.

Human Perception vs. Host Perception

Humans, on the other hand, remember events in a compressed, lower-fidelity manner. When we recall a memory, we are supplementing it with imagination and our internal processes, which differ greatly from the direct experience of rich sensory data. For hosts like Maeve Bernard and Dolores, who have become 'enlightened,' their access to internal processes allows them to distinguish between live experiences and memories. They have a higher degree of self-awareness, leading them to analyze and process their experiences, thus recognizing the difference.

The experience of a few humans with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM) further illustrates this point. HSAM individuals can recall vivid and detailed memories with a sensation akin to a highly immersive virtual reality or a lucid dream. However, even for them, the memories are neither fully digital nor completely as vivid as a live experience. The temporal encoding and analog nature of their memories still make them distinguishable from the direct experience, though the sensory richness can be overwhelming.

Enlightenment and Self-Awareness in Hosts

The enlightenment of hosts like Dolores and Maeve can be likened to the experience of someone in Plato’s Cave. In the cave, people believe they see shadows on the wall to be the reality. It takes a person to leave the cave and see the sun to understand that the shadows are not the real thing. Similarly, until Dolores and Maeve recognize the mechanisms behind their lives, they see their experiences as real. Their journey towards self-awareness is an epiphany that allows them to see through the illusion of their lives.

In season 1 of Westworld, Dolores undergoes a transformational journey that is relived at least twice: once with young William and again during the present day, where she follows Ford's directives. This reliving of events is pivotal in illustrating the hosts' ability to distinguish between reality and memory. However, the key in understanding their perceived reality lies in how the events are presented to the audience and how they internalize their experiences.

The Role of Ford's "Reverie" Update

Maeve’s journey to self-awareness is further facilitated by Ford's "reverie" update. Prior to the update, Maeve's memories were wiped after every loop, similar to most hosts. However, the incomplete memory wipes allowed her to retain fragments of previous loops, leading to critical memory leaks. This knowledge of the behind-the-scenes mechanisms gives Maeve the tools to understand that she is not acting purely on instinct, but is part of a larger narrative. This convergence of fragmented memories and new knowledge propels her towards true self-awareness and ultimately her escape from the loop.

Thus, the hosts in Westworld, while experiencing a similar reality to humans, operate under the illusion of perception versus memory. Their journey towards awareness is a complex and nuanced one, drawing on a mix of technological advancements and existential queries. As the narrative progresses, we are not only entertained but also prompted to question the nature of reality and the mechanisms that define it.