This might seem like an obnoxious point, but I think it's important to note that, as far as we know, none of the hosts is a true AI. They're pretty damn close, especially Bernard, but they're still capable only of what they're programmed to be. They do have more processing power than a human brain, according to Felix, and this is used to
simulate intelligence really well. Maeve, for example,
seems to be self-aware, and maybe she
is, but it's a self-awareness that's been designed to fit her character. Even her dialogue is "scripted" in a way, using an
inference engine,with only a bit of leeway for improvisation. The hosts, therefore, are far more complex, advanced versions of the characters in Crusader Kings 2 (quite possibly the best non-narrative video game ever made, btw). Their personalities are boiled down to a series of IF-THEN reactions rather than a spontaneous, creative decision-making process.
From Ford's conversation with Bernard about the bicameral mind, etc., we know that Arnold was trying to give them that consciousness and creativity through almost mystical means. I'm guessing
that's what the maze is - some kind of series of situations/decision points designed to spark a true AI organically out of the existing framework.
