Are We Living In A Simulation/Thread Mode
A Document Mode version of this page is available in Are We Living In A Simulation/Document Mode.
Please someone write a page about this. Here are some links:
- http://sl4.org/archive/0112/2380.html - New website: The Simulation Argument
- http://sl4.org/archive/0110/2290.html - The Simulation Risk
- http://sl4.org/archive/0112/2392.html - Simulation aware
- http://sl4.org/archive/0212/5950.html - Another Take on the Fermi Paradox
Papers (apart from Nick Bostrom):
- "The Matrix as Metaphysics" (David Chalmers)
- "How to Live in a Simulation" (Robin Hanson)
- "Simulations: A Primer" (Mitch Howe)
- Are We living in Nick Bostrom's Speculation? (Danila Medvedev)
I'm still not quite sure what the topic of this page was intended to be, but I will post my attempt to write a page about this question anyway.
Actually, I chose to write about the question "Why should we care if we live in a simulation?", which seemed like a more useful question to talk about.
Anyway, here is my attempted answer:
If we don't have any information about the purpose of the simulation we are in, we might as well continue living as if this is not a simulation. It may be possible to find some of the more plausible purposes for a simulation we might be in by looking at what is happening in the simulation, but I haven't found a reliable way to do this.
This may be pointless, but I will mention a few possible types of simulations we may be in, and how these scenarios would affect our actions.
The simplest type is an accidental simulation. Our universe may be the unintended result of computations performed in what we would call the "real universe". The only difference between living in an accidental simulation and living in a "real" universe is that once we achieve the Singularity, we should start looking for a way out of this simulation and into the real universe, in case something stops this simulation from running, and so that we can access the computing resources of that universe.
A similar possibility is that this universe exists as a hypothetical scenario in the mind of some superintelligence, and we are unintentionally being simulated in so much detail that we experience qualia. I do not see how this scenario would affect our actions.
Another possibility is that this is an "ancestor simulation", a simulation started by a being in a universe that has already reached the Singularity, a being who chose to simulate life before the Singularity, for some reason. This simulation may be illegal in that being's society, if the word "society" is still relevant. In this scenario, the whole point of the simulation may have been for us to try to cause the Singularity, though causing the Singularity may result in the simulation being ended, which may still be preferable to letting it run. This scenario could be considered as a special case of a God simulation.
In a God simulation, the simulation was created by a being who wanted a toy universe to play God with. In this scenario, it would be a bad idea to make the simulator angry at us, though we might not have any idea what would or would not make the simulator angry. In this scenario, it may also be possible to ask the simulator for help, but this might make the simulator angry. Interestingly, this scenario seems to be compatible with some religions.
Another possibility is that this universe is being simulated by a Friendly AI, and every bad thing that happens in this universe is really somehow for some "greater good". The Banana Test can be and has been used to provide strong Bayesian Evidence against this scenario.
Another possibility is the scenario from "The Matrix", where this reality was created as a prison for our minds, while our real bodies are somehow being used to generate energy. In this scenario, causing the Singularity may be impossible, but it still wouldn't hurt much to try.
Another possibility is the silly "brains in jars" scenario from philosophy 101, but this one isn't even worth describing.
Another possibility is that a superintelligence in some universe found a way to do infinite computation, and is simulating all possible universes. I don't see how this scenario would influence our actions. This scenario is practically equivalent to some multiverse theories.
So now I have written a page about Are We Living In A Simulation. Is this what was requested, or were you expecting something else?
Should this page be moved to Controversial Pages/Are We Living In A Simulation?
Are there any more types of simulations that I missed?
Should I spend more effort trying to avoid over-using the same words and paragraph structure?
--observer
Observer, the thread you mention eventually turned into a discussion about simulations.
What you wrote is a good start.
Are We Living In A Simulation/Document Mode is a version of this page that shows how a wiki should be used, in my opinion. Unfortunately our Wiki Etiquette encourages the use of signatures, which tends to hinder collaboration in favor of discussion (see Wiki:Thread Mode and Wiki:Document Mode).
