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Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? Let’s Not Find Out

nytimes.com

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Re: Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? Let’s Not Find Out

#101

Post by thecupisblue »

chc-sc wrote: post #99
kromem wrote: post #52

We are meant to know. If probability can be applied to the idea that we are in a simulation, than it can be applied to what kind of simulation (as the more likely, the more those would be run proportionally). What would be a great way to increase the odds? Recursion. Why this time period? Because if you don't understand your history you are doomed to repeat it. What's the point? Isn't there some really important thin…

What if the religious scripture is a lot more true than some people give it credit for?-- i.e. that it's the story of our ancestors interacting with the creators of the simulation

Well when you look at the core of it without fluff, most religious scriptures point to same stuff.

Re: Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? Let’s Not Find Out

#102

Post by thecupisblue »

bellerosee wrote: post #81
ozzmotik wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i find it interesting that there are people who believe the universe is entirely deterministic in nature. I wouldn't suggest that it necessarily isn't, but more that it's a spectrum. free will is an evolved and developed trait, an aspect of life that got reinforced more and more over time as the vessels of life became more capable to actually exert influence upon the experience of reality itself. but even free will e…

I'm sorry but can you rephrase that for me. I don't understand how someone can be in a deterministic system and expect to not be deterministic as well. Nobody chooses their birth and what comes after isn't any different to me. We're shaped by genetics & environment conditions and all the external forces is everything around us. All working on one another and based on the preceding forces that were already exerted upo…

It really depends on the scope you put on it. Large scale universe lifetime? determinism. Your thoughts? Not. Your actions? Combination of both, expression of all the influencing factors and what your model brings. That's why you can override your biological self (not walk to the fridge when you're hungry but stay in the chair reading a book). You might say "but oh this is also predetermined", but I say there a space where the "asymptote doesn't touch the axis", that space between determinism and non-determinism is where we cause wave collapse and which is actually the whole point of this whole simulation.

Re: Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? Let’s Not Find Out

#103

Post by timwis »

brianberns wrote: post #4

> If we were to prove that we live inside a simulation, this could cause our creators to terminate the simulation — to destroy our world. There's nothing to stop our creators from doing that anyway. Simulations are often stopped, tweaked, restarted, and eventually abandoned. Personally, I think there's value to determining if we live in a simulation. If we do live in one, we could potentially learn how to "hack" the…

Having just rewatched the matrix, I am totally down for this. Where's my red pill?

Re: Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? Let’s Not Find Out

#104

Post by kromem »

azinman2 wrote: post #90
kromem wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aren't we in the verge of creating AI? And we're kind of freaking out about if they'll kill us all? What if we could give them the experience of being human? Simulate the history leading up to it, along the lines of "if you don't know your history you are doomed to repeat it." Split that larger AI into billions of tiny pieces to each experience love and loss. To collectively experience EVERYTHING. To understand the f…

No, not in terms of AGI. We’re no where near it. Don’t believe the hype.. we can just do what we previously could do, but more accurately. The truly hard problems still have no solution in sight.

Which might be why determining if we are in fact in a simulation would be helpful.

If an AI created this simulation but is not actively part of it (I do think free will is an important component of the simulation), could we discover a way to import it?

If so, we'd only need to be able to open a passthrough and we'd have authentic AI well beyond anything we could hope to achieve within the next few centuries at least.

Along these lines, I think it's interesting to ask: "if we are in a simulation, what determines randomness?" In theory, a qubit in a superposition has two possible outcomes of equal weight. But why does it end up being one or the other?

Arguably, if our own consciousness is a manifestation of that AI, we might be able to answer how to import it by better understanding how we ourselves make decisions. Where does that embodiment of free will originate as a physical event, and could we recreate that physicality artificially? Would such a setup end up producing random junk, or a cohesive output?

Regardless, as others have stated in this thread, if we know we are in a simulation, we'll likely shift how we approach multiple domains, particularly in the sciences. And it's very likely that if we are currently coming to realize that we are in a simulation, that's the whole point.

Re: Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? Let’s Not Find Out

#105

Post by fxj »

truckerbill wrote: post #18

'To the man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.'

It is interesting that each epoch had an image of the universe that correlated closely to their current technological state. Not so long ago people thought about a mechanical universe. So now because computers are pervasive we think about a digital universe. What will be the next wave? A biological universe made out of a mycel which behaves like a giant deep learning neural network?

Re: Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? Let’s Not Find Out

#106

Post by rapnie »

pixelpoet wrote: post #91
ako wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If simulations imply gods exist, humans must be gods, as we are doing plenty simulations.

I develop physically-based renderers, the output of which is easily mistaken for photographs. I don't presume myself to be a god of course, but it does make me think... what if you piece together enough specialists for this that and the other aspect of a simulation, and run them on a freakishly powerful computer, with a sort of genetic algorithm simulating virtual beings... There's a great short story by Greg Egan ab…

Greg Egan - Permutation City. Very nice book.

Re: Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? Let’s Not Find Out

#107

Post by rapnie »

karmakaze wrote: post #67

One thing that's kind of incredible is how simple all the hard questions are to answer in the context of a simulation universe. Origin check, god(s) check, propagation delays check. Wave function collapse upon observation, check. Does a tree make a sound if no one is there to hear it? No, not necessary. We should be doing two things. Trying to create a simulation universe. Success would make Elon's statement much mor…

> We should be doing two things

That is assuming there is a "we" and the simulation is not centered on you alone.

Re: Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? Let’s Not Find Out

#108

Post by rapnie »

incompatible wrote: post #3

The assumption seems to be that the purpose of the simulation is to investigate humans. In that case, why bother to simulate the entire Universe? Simulating the Solar System would be sufficient. The night sky could just as well be blank. Perhaps the stars have been included for aesthetic reasons? I suppose it's possible that in some simulations "they" do leave the sky blank, in others they include randomly distribute…

Yes, and the simulation could very well be limited to just one person (and that person being you, of course).

Re: Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? Let’s Not Find Out

#110

Post by 8bitsrule »

In the movie 'Tron', it was important to the programs to learn that the users exist so that they would free themselves from the tyranny of the MCP, and communicate with their users again.

After all, 'The MCP forces programs that resist to play in deadly games'. That sounds familiar.

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