‘Westworld’: What Is the AI Sphere Rehoboam? What Does It Mean?

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If you’re watching Westworld Season 3 Episode 1, you’re no doubt wondering about that AI sphere that we’ve seen and that some people say is called Rehoboam. Here’s a look at what we know so far and what Rehoboam means. This article has spoilers for Season 3 Episode 1 of Westworld. 


The Sphere, Called Rehoboam, Is an Advanced AI

Later in Episode 1, Dolores meets Rehoboam face-to-face. Liam tells her that it took 15 years to build. The AI has endless strategies or thoughts per second — so many that it’s difficult to track. He said his dad built this because he thought unrealized potential was the biggest problem and they needed to chart a path for every person.

Dolores then eavesdrops on a conversation another woman is having with Liam about the AI. She is telling Liam that they’re unhappy there’s been some turbulence in the data, but Liam doesn’t think it’s a big deal. She says there have been some discrepancies and they think someone acquired access to Rehoboam with a level of sophistication they’ve never seen before. “It’s like someone is testing the system,” she said. But Liam said Rehoboam would alert them. She argued this might not be the case if the leak was from inside, such as through Liam himself.

That’s when we find out that the woman is responding to a higher authority, an unnamed man who is calling the shots but doesn’t share Liam’s confidence. Liam says he should be concerned about Delos. “Call it a wild guess,” he says. The woman warns him that he shouldn’t use the system to look into them. So it appears the man calling the shots with her group is connected to Delos somehow. Possibly someone who’s an investor?

So what does Rehoboam mean? Rehoboam was the first king of the Kingdom of Judah. He was King David’s grandson, according to the Old Testament in the Bible, and he was Solomon’s son.

In the Bible, Rehoboam was first the king of a united Israel monarchy, ruling over all the tribes. But the 10 northern tribes rebelled and formed an independent kingdom under Jeroboam, so he was then only the king of the southern kingdom.

Supposedly this rebellion was because Solomon disobeyed God. 1 Kings 11:1-13 reads:

So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel … Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.”


The AI Is Tracking Divergences

One of the things the AI is tracking would be divergences in data. Here’s what we saw in this episode.

One divergence (the second) was listed as an “elevated scrutiny” in London, UREW.

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The third was listed as an “anomaly detected: in Los Angeles.

HBO

The first divergence was noted in Beihai, China.

HBO

It’s not clear why that name was chosen for the AI, however. What is clear is that Dolores wants to access the AI and, perhaps, is already working on that. When she broke into the investor’s home and was able to do so easily because he used “her kind” to guard himself, that was essentially foreshadowing what is to come. Dolores’ quest to take over the world could be connected to a quest to interface with this AI. If she can take control of it or befriend it, then all bets are off.

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