Are We Living in a Computer Simulation?

Abstract

I argue that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to become extinct before reaching a ‘posthuman’ stage; (2) any posthuman civilization is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of its evolutionary history (or variations thereof); (3) we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation. It follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we shall one day become posthumans who run ancestor‐simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation. I discuss some consequences of this result.

Extending the reach of social touch through haptic technology

“…But perhaps we have already been one-upped, as suggested by philosopher Nick Bostrom [56]. Bostrom posits that we are currently living our lives in a complex computer simulation.…”

“…Since these simulations are likely to be highly advanced, the simulated people living inside of them will have consciousness. Supposing that this is indeed the case, the high number of simulations in which conscious people live would make it more likely that we ourselves belong to the simulated people rather than to the original biological race [56]. One rather depressing, or perhaps equally depressing, alternative is that the human race will die out before being able to run advanced ancestorsimulations.…”

“…Another scenario forwarded by Bostrom is that posthumans will simply not be interested, or on ethical or legals grounds will be prohibited from running many ancestor-simulations. Bostrom, for the moment, assigns equal credence to each of these three alternatives [56].…”

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“…Science will also eventually reach the realm which is unknowable, corresponding to the nameless as described in the first chapter of Dao De Jing: "the name that can be named is not the eternal name; the nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth". The immanent source is the knowable to the believers of the supernatural through their supernatural worlds and supernatural connections, and the knowable to scientists through the seemingly purposeful universe as expressed in the anthropic principle of cosmology [39] and the simulation hypothesis of cosmology [40] to facilitate the existence of humans. Imagination is the foundation of both religion proposed by Maurice Bloch [21] and fundamental science, such as quantum physics and cosmology based on imagination very different from ordinary perception.…”

Cosmic Confusions: Not Supporting versus Supporting Not

“…A variant and rather more complicated form of Olum's argument had already been given by Bostrom (2003). Bostrom considers not just the growth of civilizations, but that suitably advanced civilizations will have the ability to simulate conscious minds in computers.…”