Simulated reality

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Simulated reality describes a hypothetical environment that, although experienced as real, is actually a highly detailed simulation of reality. Unlike the currently technologically achievable concept of virtual reality, which is easily distinguished from the experience of "real" reality, a simulated reality would be impossible to tell apart from "real" reality. Hyperreality describes postmodern attitudes of the perceptions of reality.

The modern version of this involves a thought experiment on the lines of imagining that the person experiencing the simulated reality is somehow "plugged into" a computer of immense power that is programmed with all the rules of the simulation, and provides them with all of their sensory input. A deeper thought experiment may even assume that the person experiencing the simulation is themselves simulated within the simulation, and may have no physical existence at all outside of the simulation.

Two philosophical questions, and one ethical question, arise immediately:

  • is it, even in principle, possible to tell whether we are in a simulated reality, or a real one?
  • is there any difference between the two? and does it matter?
  • how should one behave, if you knew that you were living in a simulated reality?

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Simulated people in simulated reality

Several people have pointed out that if a human brain is analyzed in sufficient detail, the mechanism of that brain might be electronically simulated. The result would behave as an electronic duplicate of the original human brain, as occurs in mind transfer. Whether the speed is similar to the normal speed of a brain would affect how it could interact with the real world. Gathering enough detail is neither possible nor practical, at present in the early 21st century. Science fiction authors have noted various difficulties which such a being may encounter, such as its existence being legally recognized, the right to own property, and the relationships with the original and other duplicates of itself.

Simulated reality in fiction

Simulated reality is a theme that pre-dates science fiction. In Medieval and Renaissance religious theatre, the concept of the world as a theater is frequent. Works include:

  • and many more... please add to this list

Is this a simulated reality?

The simulation argument, due to the philosopher Nick Bostrom, investigates the possibility that we may be living in a simulation. The argument attempts to prove the disjunction of three hypotheses:

Either

  • the human race will never reach a level of technology where we can run convincing reality simulations; or
  • races who do reach such a level do not tend to run such simulations; or
  • we are almost certainly living in such a simulation.

His argument uses the premise that given sufficiently advanced technology, it is possible to simulate entire inhabitated planets or even larger habitats, including all the people on them, on a computer, and that simulated people can be fully conscious, and are as much persons as non-simulated people are.

If we then assume that the human race could reach such a technological level without destroying themselves in the process (i.e. we deny the first hypothesis); and that once we reached such a level we would still be interested in history, the past, and our ancestors, and that there would be no legal or moral strictures on running such simulations (we deny the second hypothesis) - then

  • it is likely that we would run a very large number of so-called ancestor simulations;
  • and that many of these simulations would in turn run other sub-simulations, and so on;
  • and given the fact that right now it is impossible to tell whether or not we are living in one of the vast number of simulations or the original ancestor universe, the likelihood is therefore that we are.

See also

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References

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