Simulation or Reality – Which World Are We Living In?

There is no doubt that we are currently living in a highly technological and computerized world. Our lives are at risk of theoretical and technological dependency. According to Dave Ranyard, soon there will be an intersection between artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Ranyard has a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and is the former head of Sony’s VR department.

More and more people are now opting for VR sets to play games during their leisure time. The prices of VR have also dropped significantly and will continue declining. They will soon become as common as wearing a pair of glasses. People enjoy being immersed in VR worlds and it can be a pleasurable escape from their actual environment and provide them with new and increasingly realistic experiences. VR is an alternative reality in which the player can immerse themselves in very realistic environments which can conjure up very real emotions. Aside from the aftereffects, there are moral implications such as increased social detachment and self-absorption. You can relieve yourself from stress with VR, however, you may feel extremely disoriented on returning back to the real world. It takes some time to gather oneself again and get

VR is an alternative reality in which the player can immerse themselves in very realistic environments which can conjure up very real emotions. Aside from the aftereffects, there are moral implications such as increased social detachment and self-absorption. You can relieve yourself from stress with VR, however, you may feel extremely disoriented on returning back to the real world. It takes some time to gather oneself again and get

VR is an alternative reality in which the players can immerse themselves in very realistic environments which can conjure up very real emotions. Aside from the aftereffects, there are moral implications such as increased social detachment and self-absorption. You can relieve yourself from stress with VR, however, you may feel extremely disoriented on returning back to the real world. It takes some time to gather oneself again and get back to the routine of life.

But a few are asking the question: what if this “real” life really is actually a more sophisticated virtual simulation?

Many thinkers, like Zhuang Zhou, Descartes and Plato have pondered the idea of whether or not we are actually living in a simulated or dream world. There are also countless science fiction movies and stories, such as “The Matrix.”

In the movie, humans are paralyzed, enslaved and used as a source of energy by the technologically advanced machines. The humans are sealed in a fictional reality instead of understanding their conditions, while the machines are their masters and simulate the humans.

“The Matrix” is an adaptation of “brain in a vat” by philosopher Hilary Putnam. A story about a disembodied brain which operates in challenging the reality when subjected to the computer simulation. Putnam, the screenwriter of the movie, rewrote the story of “First meditation” which was written in the 17th century by French philosopher Rene Descartes. The story was based on a concept that an evil demon had overpowered the exterior world.

“The Matrix” is one of the most popular movies of all time. Four years after the release of the film in 2003, Nick Bostrom, the Oxford philosopher, provocatively wrote a paper named “Are you living in computer simulation?”.

The paper debated that out of the three propositions mentioned below, one must be the truth.

1) Humans are very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage;

2) Any post human civilisation is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of their evolutionary history (or variations thereof);

3) Humans are almost certainly living in a computer simulation.

Bostrom suggested that members of an advanced civilisation may have developed great programming/genetic re-programming skills and that they may decide to embark upon a creative venture, perhaps the ultimate creative venture. They may possess the ability to do a number of such simulations in order to detect whether within such simulations the majority of minds are artificial instead of the original minds of ancestors.

Statistics also suggest that we are now living with simulated minds. The theory by Bostrom has attracted many critics some of whom said that it would be impossible to build the simulations of the ancestors.

The theory has also appealed to many Silicon Valley types and futurologists. Last year, The New Yorker reported that two tech billionaires who did not disclose their names recruited scientists to research the possibilities of removing oneself from the simulation.

There is a continuous development in virtual reality, gaming, artificial intelligence and biotechnology as well as other areas of technology that are rapidly creating more and more realistic portrayals of the world. If these technological developments and our interests in simulation continue, then in the near future, there will be no difference between a simulation and reality. At that point, we will create human simulations with our own awareness and consciousness.

Some may even say that this situation is already present, and we are actually the simulations of our ancestors, conceived by the advanced post-human civilisation. Elon Musk, a famous tech entrepreneur, said  that “there is only a “one in billions” possibility that we are not living in a computer simulation.”

Many other respected researchers and thinkers share the same opinion.

Below are five other theories related to the simulation theory

1. The universe is a hologram or a dream

This theory suggests that everything we experience and see is not real but an illusion. Our virtual 3D reality is based and encoded on a surface that is two dimensional which cannot be viewed, or it is a dream within an even higher consciousness.

2. Multiverse theory

There are countless universes in space, of which ours is but one. There are also different theories and classifications about different kinds of multiverses that probably exist.

3. Ekpyrotic universe theory

The Big Bang theory is, in reality, an evolution from the previous contraction period to the present expansion period. All the important events in the universe took place prior to the Big Bang and a continuous cycle of contraction and expansion is taking place in the universe.

4. White holes

If there are black holes, then their opposite could also exist, white holes. These white holes constantly emit light and matter, not letting anything enter into them.

5. Quantum entanglement

Two particles in the universe can be connected with one another even if they are billions of light years away from each other in the space. Any change in one will have the same effect in the other. An extremely mysterious property to say the least.