Originally Posted by
neckdeep
My interpretation of the backstory is that Arnold and Ford were close friends and friendly rivals both seeking to create AI until the issue of the host's self-determination drove them apart, fatally. Ford wanted AI for the sake of the hosts being lifelike but Arnold wanted to create life itself and give it self-determination. This may be because he was grieving the loss of his own wife and son. Perhaps Dolores, the park's prototype host and Teddy another early host, became almost like a surrogate family for Arnold in his quest to create AI. The key here is that Arnold started to wander away from building the park and into building life itself. It became disruptive. Because Ford is a total control freak, Arnold and Ford had a falling out and Ford used Arnold's two favorite hosts to kill Arnold and his techs and seize control of the park. Then, because he has such a cold-hearted sense of irony, Ford consigned Arnold's favorites to endlessly live out a nightmare narrative scenario of rape and failure for the entertainment of the park's black hat guests.