The question on our existence we should ask ourselves should be that are we in a universe that is wholly simulated? There is no doubt that the theory and the idea for our existence are a simulation that would seem unfamiliar and irrational to the general public. However, this belief has been shared by many great mind philosophers including, Ray Kurzweil, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Elon Musk. Elon Musk asked a question, “what is outside the simulation?” in a program with Lex Fridman, a research scientist at MIT.
To understand how anyone can survive in a simulation, one would require to explore the simulation hypothesis. Simulation Creationism that determines everything, including the Universe, is an artificial simulation.
The idea for simulation theory is not a recent one; it was proposed in the 17th-century by the philosopher René Descartes. Again, this idea started getting interested when a Swedish-born philosopher at the University of Oxford, Nick Bostrom, wrote in a paper with the title “Are you living in a Computer Simulation?”
Nick Bostrom has increased his declaration’s possibilities and utilizes the analysis to demonstrate his point of view. There are several interviews that he has given detailed information, including this talk at Google headquarters.
We will further investigate the simulation concept and how it is created, who and why anyone would originate this simulation.
How a simulation would be originated
If we try to look over the history of video games, we can notice a considerable difference and technology development. Forty years ago, we had a game called Pong consisting of two rectangles and a dot. It was a kind of tennis-style game. Video games rapidly evolved; there was 2D graphics in the 80s and 3D in the 90s, now Virtual Reality (VR) has been introduced.
When we start talking about the rate of development in VR, it is not easily understood. At the beginning stage of VR, it suffered from several issues; the users started getting headaches, dizziness, nausea, and eye strain. However, some of these issues persist, but now VR has introduced gaming, educational, and travel experiences in the 3D view surrounding the users.
It is not hard to say that if the technology keeps developing at the current rate of progress, then, in 50 years or 500 years, VR would be identical to reality. A user would engage themselves in a virtual game that would be completely simulated, and at some point, the gamer will find it hard to differentiate reality from fiction. The gamer could engage themselves entirely in unreal reality that they do not determine that they are nothing but a simple character in some simulations.
Who Would Create the Simulation?
How is it possible for us to create simulations based on growing technological advances, as explained by “The law of accelerating returns.” The question arises who would create simulations in such a challenging puzzle. Some numerous different conditions and scenarios have already been put forward; they are likewise valid as there is no way to examine these theories.
Nick Bostrom suggested that maybe an advanced civilization chose to run their “ancestor simulations.” These are simulations that are identical to reality. These are essentially simulations to simulate human ancestors that are indistinguishable from reality. It is possible to run infinite numbers of simulated realities. This is not a distant thing that you examine. Deep reinforcement learning aims to instruct an Artificial neural network to upgrade itself in a simulation.
We could be simulating non-identical realities to uncover the truth about a chain of events only if we try to examine the theory purely with the point of view of Artificial Intelligence. You may create such a simulation where Korea is divided into North and South, but North and South Korea remains unified in another simulation. Every small change in the simulation could leave a huge impact.
Other principles say either aliens or advanced Artificial Intelligence has created that simulation. The truth behind the simulation is still unknown. However, it is interesting to theorize who would be running such massive and advanced simulations.
How simulation works
There are numerous arguments made about the simulation theory of how it works. The entire planets, earth, and all this Universe in existence for 4.5 billion years are all a part of simulation from that long time? Or the simulation started at an un-specific point like the year AD 1? This would suggest that we prevent computing power resources; the simulation would create a geological and archaeological history that we will study. And then again, another undefined point may beat the aim of simulation that may have been designed to grasp the nature of evolutionary forces and homo sapiens that react to disaster events like five significant extinctions, one of them was wiping out the dinosaurs over 65 million years ago.
Another possible scenario would start when the first human began traveling outside from Africa almost 70,000 to 100,000 years ago. The concept of simulation of time varies from the time skilled in a computer, generally when you part in quantum computing.
A quantum computer would have the capability to authorize time to be non-linear. We can experience time without any actual passage of time. Not only this, without the quantum computing power, OpenAI has flourishingly used the large scale that is deep reinforcement learning to permit a robotic hand to teach itself manipulating a Rubik’s cube.
Why people believe
When you think about the spectrum of those who have the notion that there is a possibility that we are living in a simulation, an ordinary common measurement is present. Most people who have a deep faith in technological progress, science, and rapid change are more successful.
If you are Elon Musk, what is more possibility that he is the one person among 7.7 billion to take humans to Mars or the chances he is in some simulation? That may be why Elon Musk stated in Code Conference; there is one chance in a billion we live in a real-world. Elon Musk also shared his views in the show Joe Rogan Experience, where he said, possibly we are in a simulation.
An American developer and enigmatic hacker, George Hotz, has given the most compelling simulation theory argument. He is also a founder of autonomous vehicle technology Comma.ai. In the SXSW 2019, Geroge made people believe that we live in a simulation for one hour. We can presume with confidence, i.e., we should try to keep our minds open.
