Disney Announces Plans to Add Robots to Theme Parks, Drawing Comparisons to Westworld

If you've seen Westworld trending on social media this week, it's sadly not because of any major announcement regarding the beloved HBO TV series (based on the 1973 film of the same name). The Walt Disney Company is actually behind the recent surge in Westworld mentions on Twitter, as a chilling report from the New York Times has folks suddenly comparing the Happiest Place on Earth with the murderous theme park depicted on the show.

Disney executives are reportedly looking into having the robots and animatronics from the various rides and attractions start walking around in the parks with the guests. Yes, we're likely several years away from that possibility from a technology standpoint, but it sounds like the higher-ups at Disney are keen on the idea of having robot character mingling throughout the park.

Now it's pretty easy to connect the dots to Westworld, right? The series started with a story about an interactive theme park where the A.I. started to form a life of its own. It's a cautionary tale, and one that Disney apparently didn't watch.

If there is one positive thing to take from this whole situation, it's that the jokes on Twitter are fantastic, even if they are a tad bit ominous.