Are We Living in a Computer Simulation?
Back in June, Elon Musk gave an interesting response to an audience question at a technology
conference in California.
When asked what he thought of the idea that the world we live in
is nothing more than a computer simulation of real life, Musk gave a very in-depth reply,
in which he said, “There’s a one in billions chance we’re in base reality. Sounds crazy right?
is nothing more than a computer simulation of real life, Musk gave a very in-depth reply,
in which he said, “There’s a one in billions chance we’re in base reality. Sounds crazy right?
This
idea we are all living in a simulated reality has been around for a few
years and was
first posited in a 2003 paper by Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom.
While it might sound
ridiculous at first, Bostrom and Musk give reasonable arguments for this theory. They say
that we are almost certainly in a simulation if two premises are met. The first is that
technology will evolve so much that eventually computers will be able to simulate
consciousness. The second is that we will have access to immense amounts of computing
power and that our advanced civilization will want to simulate reality. Both of these premises
seem impossibly unlikely today, but what about thousands of years in the future? Elon Musk
cited the advancement of video games in just 40 years as proof we will eventually be able to reach these technological heights:
ridiculous at first, Bostrom and Musk give reasonable arguments for this theory. They say
that we are almost certainly in a simulation if two premises are met. The first is that
technology will evolve so much that eventually computers will be able to simulate
consciousness. The second is that we will have access to immense amounts of computing
power and that our advanced civilization will want to simulate reality. Both of these premises
seem impossibly unlikely today, but what about thousands of years in the future? Elon Musk
cited the advancement of video games in just 40 years as proof we will eventually be able to reach these technological heights:
We might be living in a simulated world much like a very advanced version of the video game "The Sims" pictured above
“The strongest
argument for us being in a simulation probably is the following. Forty years
ago we had pong. Like, two rectangles and a dot. That was what games were.
Now, 40 years later, we have photorealistic, 3D simulations with
millions of people playing simultaneously, and it's getting better every year.
Soon we'll have virtual reality, augmented reality.”
“If you assume any rate of improvement at all, then the games
will become indistinguishable from reality, even if that rate of advancement
drops by a thousand from what it is now.”
So if these computing capabilities are possible thousands of
years in the future, then it is
likely we would create artificial worlds inside a computer. The theory goes
even further and suggests that there could be simulations within simulations
within simulations, and if that is true then it becomes highly unlikely that we
are indeed living in base reality, or at least that’s the argument. The theory
relies on several assumptions that we are uncertain would become reality,
although they are certainly not out of the realm of possibility. It all depends
on what the future holds.
This is a pretty barebones summary of this concept and if you
thought it was interesting I highly suggest checking out the two articles below
which I used as my sources. They were really interesting reads and go into
greater depth than my post here.
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I've never heard the theory of a base reality before, but it's extremely interesting. I've always wondered about what is beyond what we truly know in the universe, and the possibility of living inside a base reality is really perplexing. Having played games like the Sims in the past, it's strange to think that there's a small possibility that's what our world is like. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Amanda. I've thought about this many times. And I think it's becoming a recurring theme in movies as well (e.g. Hunger Games, Divergent). But it makes your brain hurt sometimes thinking about what might be or could be. What if someone right now is watching us through a screen and enhancing our atmosphere with stimuli that guide our actions? But is it healthy to contemplate about these things? And what is the point where this turns from conspiracy theories to obsession?
ReplyDeleteThis blog post topic makes me think of the theory of Solipsism. It is a theory that basically states that we cannot verify anything except the existence of our own mind. It essentially states that we could all literally be living a crazy dream that we have failed to wake up from yet. I agree with Smaragda when she asks if it is healthy to contemplate these things as thinking about theories like this often leads to a sense of dysphoria or recklessness in some people as they see life as having no point to it.
ReplyDelete