If you haven’t heard of HBO’s Emmy Nominated series West World, then you’ve probably been living off the grid or under a rock somewhere. Based on the 1973 Michael Crichton movie of the same name, the story unfolds in a futuristic Wild-West themed amusement park, where high-paying guests can fulfill their wildest cowboy dreams without fear of consequence. The amusement park is run by artificially intelligent robots that appear physically to be human, but are programmed with specific narratives that control all of their actions. Without sentience or free will, these “hosts” become mere objects to be used and abused while the visitors to the park live out their sick fantasies. The series explores how technological advancement blurs the line between reality and fantasy, and asks us some important questions about what it means to be human. It’s extremely timely, especially as we’re now living in an age where an AI can become an Instagram influencer, have her music on Spotify, and even land the cover of a print magazine. What even is human anymore?
HBO asked Ink to come up with a creative response to the new season of West World, which premiered April of this year. View our West World inspired photoshoot below:
