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Constraints on the Universe as a Numerical Simulation (2012)

arxiv.org

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Re: Constraints on the Universe as a Numerical Simulation (2012)

#41

Post by teraflop »

smrtinsert wrote: post #7

What sort of moral issues result from creating a simulation universe that gives rise to sentient beings? I feel creeped out and reminded of Source Code with Jake Gyllenhaal for some reason.

Greg Egan has written a (slightly ham-fisted, but still interesting) short story about that question: http://ttapress.com/553/crystal-nights-by-greg-egan/

The author has commented that he regrets having overlooked the moral implications of simulated life in his previous works (see e.g. http://gregegan.customer.netspace.net.au/PERMUTATION/FAQ/FAQ..., which contains spoilers for Permutation City) so I wouldn't be surprised if that was the inspiration for this story.

Re: Constraints on the Universe as a Numerical Simulation (2012)

#43

Post by fredfoobar »

astrodust wrote: post #20
kornork wrote: post #5

If we're living in a simulation, the question of whether AIs can have consciousness is solved.

What if the simulation is actually being "run" inside an entity or organism that was the natural product of its environment?

So, like a dream?

Re: Constraints on the Universe as a Numerical Simulation (2012)

#44

Post by allemagne »

Justsignedup wrote: post #32
45h34jh53k4j wrote: post #29

Sigh. Why would you dedicate your life to proving this? You will either find you cannot prove it, in which case you have wasted your entire life on falsehood, or you prove it true in which you undo your dilute your existence and everyone you have ever known and loved. Kinda like religion I guess...

though, if we are a simulation... maybe we can exploit bugs in it and give ourselves advantages! After all, the only bug-free program is one that was never started.

let's just hope we don't find the bug that crashes our server

Re: Constraints on the Universe as a Numerical Simulation (2012)

#45

Post by kornork »

mslev wrote: post #12
kornork wrote: post #5

If we're living in a simulation, the question of whether AIs can have consciousness is solved.

Is there a difference between a conscious being and a being who has been programmed to believe it has a conscience?

I'm no expert on philosophy, but I feel like consciousness is a subjective experience. So externally there would be no difference, but I'm pretty sure I'm conscious.

Of course, I've also heard of the illusion of consciousness, but that's where my brain explodes.

Re: Constraints on the Universe as a Numerical Simulation (2012)

#47

Post by AnimalMuppet »

So we stopped believing that God created the universe, and us as part of it. We believed only in science and natural processes. Following that through, we started believing that we live in a computer simulation with, presumably, some kind of programmer. That's pretty ironic.

Re: Constraints on the Universe as a Numerical Simulation (2012)

#48

Post by mrspeaker »

45h34jh53k4j wrote: post #29

Sigh. Why would you dedicate your life to proving this? You will either find you cannot prove it, in which case you have wasted your entire life on falsehood, or you prove it true in which you undo your dilute your existence and everyone you have ever known and loved. Kinda like religion I guess...

They are applying the scientific method to testing a hypothesis... isn't it more like religion to NOT do it?

Re: Constraints on the Universe as a Numerical Simulation (2012)

#50

Post by yodon »

aq3cn wrote: post #2

For those, who want to read it in lay man's language, they can go through following articles: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/429561/the-measurement-th... http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/physicists-may-have-evide...

The tech review summary seems to be saying this super intelligent universe-simulating computer builder doesn't know about Bresenham's line drawing algorithm [0] and as a result it can only walk high energy particles along a limited number of paths.

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bresenham%27s_line_algorithm

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