Do We Live in a Simulation?
Some people argue that advanced civilizations should be able to run simulations with beings like us in them, and, due to the fact that one civilization can make many simulations, and there can even be simulations within simulations and so on, it's most likely that we live in one of these simulated realities.
My approach to this question is related to the subject of my last week's entry: consciousness. Can simulated beings be conscious? Well, for those who think consciousness requires only a specific type and/or amount of information processing, it is perfectly possible, but, as I explained, I don't believe so. What I believe is that one of the possibilities below is true:
1. Consciousness can't be simulated at all. It can do something a Turing Machine can't, so it can't run on a computer. (As for quantum computers, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they can't do non-Turing things, they just do some things much faster.)
2. It can be perfectly simulated, but it's not real. So, the simulated beings behave like they are conscious, but in fact they aren't.
So I think we probably don't live in a simulation.
Next week: Free Will Makes No Sense
Edited by PawelS
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