Skip to main content
Contribution to Book
Just Desserts or Just Rebellion?
Westworld and Philosophy (2018)
  • Brian Stiltner
Abstract
Rebellion is a contentious category in the ethics of warfare. This chapter explores the question of whether the character Dolores/Wyatt in the HBO series Westworld is justified in leading "hosts" (robots) to kill "guests" (humans), since the guest and those who run the Westworld theme park are abusing the robots for their own pleasure. I make two arguments. First, a rebellion by the hosts could be justified in theory, although the particular way it plays out in the TV series is fraught with ethical failings. Second, the will to create war make the robot hosts more human, in ways both bad and good.
Keywords
  • just war theory,
  • rebellion,
  • AI ethics
Publication Date
2018
Editor
Richard Greene and Joshua Heter
Publisher
Open Court Press
Series
Popular Culture and Philosophy series
ISBN
9870812699913
Publisher Statement
Final draft uploaded by kind permission of the publisher. Order the book here: https://shop.aer.io/open_court/p/Westworld_and_Philosophy_Mind_Equals_Blown/9780812699913-8963
Citation Information
Brian Stiltner. "Just Desserts or Just Rebellion?" ChicagoWestworld and Philosophy (2018) p. 137 - 147
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/brian_stiltner/49/