THE SIMULATION ARGUMENTARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACTDO WE LIVE IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION It follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day become posthumans who run ancestor-simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation. A number of other consequences of this result are also discussed. "The Simulation Argument is perhaps the first interesting argument for the existence
of a
THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT FAQ 1. What is the simulation argument? The simulation argument was set forth in a paper published in 2003. A draft of that paper had previously been circulated for a couple of years. ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? 1 ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? BY NICK BOSTROM This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a WHAT'S THE PROBABILITY THAT WE'RE LIVING IN THE MATRIX? The Matrix got many otherwise not-so-philosophical minds ruminating on the nature of reality. But the scenario depicted in the movie is ridiculous: human brains being kept in tanks by intelligent machines just to produce power. ARE YOU LIVING IN A SIMULATION Are You Living In a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom (2001, May) ABSTRACT This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; A PATCH FOR THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT 3 The first patch The first way to patch the argument starts by noting the empirical claim, argued for in the original paper, that a posthuman civilization would have the capability to run an astronomical number of ancestor simulations, even using only a tiny fraction of its computational resources for that purpose. I, SIM
4 1. Introduction In the article entitled Are You Living in a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom argues, somewhat convincingly I might add, that there’s a good chance that I, you, everyone you ARE YOU A SIM
have any specific evidence that tells on whether we are a Sim or a human. So the credence we each assign to I’m a Sim should equal our best guess as to the percentage of human-like agents that are Sims, which is far above ½. As Glenn Reynolds put it, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?
NATURAL EVIL AND THE SIMULATION HYPOTHESIS Natural Evil and the Simulation Hypothesis David Kyle Johnson Associate Professor of Philosophy King’s College Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 Davidjohnson@kings.edu ARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACT? deny these two. Moore’s Law (computational power increases exponentially, with a doubling time of two years or less) leaves me far from ready to reject the first. THE SIMULATION ARGUMENTARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACTDO WE LIVE IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION It follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day become posthumans who run ancestor-simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation. A number of other consequences of this result are also discussed. "The Simulation Argument is perhaps the first interesting argument for the existence of a
THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT FAQ 1. What is the simulation argument? The simulation argument was set forth in a paper published in 2003. A draft of that paper had previously been circulated for a couple of years. ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? 1 ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? BY NICK BOSTROM This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a WHAT'S THE PROBABILITY THAT WE'RE LIVING IN THE MATRIX? The Matrix got many otherwise not-so-philosophical minds ruminating on the nature of reality. But the scenario depicted in the movie is ridiculous: human brains being kept in tanks by intelligent machines just to produce power. ARE YOU LIVING IN A SIMULATION Are You Living In a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom (2001, May) ABSTRACT This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; A PATCH FOR THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT 3 The first patch The first way to patch the argument starts by noting the empirical claim, argued for in the original paper, that a posthuman civilization would have the capability to run an astronomical number of ancestor simulations, even using only a tiny fraction of its computational resources for that purpose. I, SIM
4 1. Introduction In the article entitled Are You Living in a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom argues, somewhat convincingly I might add, that there’s a good chance that I, you, everyone you ARE YOU A SIM
have any specific evidence that tells on whether we are a Sim or a human. So the credence we each assign to I’m a Sim should equal our best guess as to the percentage of human-like agents that are Sims, which is far above ½. As Glenn Reynolds put it, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?
NATURAL EVIL AND THE SIMULATION HYPOTHESIS Natural Evil and the Simulation Hypothesis David Kyle Johnson Associate Professor of Philosophy King’s College Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 Davidjohnson@kings.edu ARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACT? deny these two. Moore’s Law (computational power increases exponentially, with a doubling time of two years or less) leaves me far from ready to reject the first. ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? If we could create quantum computers, or learn to build computers of nuclear matter or plasma, we could push closer to the theoretical limits: Seth Lloyd calculates an upper bound for a 1 kg computer of 5*10^ 50 logical operations per second on ~10 ^31 bits (Lloyd 2000).However, it suffices for our purposes to use the more conservative estimate that presupposes only currently known design ARE YOU A SIM
have any specific evidence that tells on whether we are a Sim or a human. So the credence we each assign to I’m a Sim should equal our best guess as to the percentage of human-like agents that are Sims, which is far above ½. As Glenn Reynolds put it, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?
INNOCENCE LOST
Innocence Lost Simulation Scenarios: Prospects and Consequences Barry Dainton (2002, October), The University of Liverpool Abstract Those who believe suitably programmed computers could WHY MAKE A MATRIX? AND WHY YOU MIGHT BE IN ONE Faculty of Philosophy, Oxford University. www.nickbostrom.com. Forthcoming in More Matrix and Philosophy: Revolutions and Reloaded Decoded, ed. William Irwin (Open Court, 2005) LIVING IN A SIMULATION 2 Once this capability to simulate universe is achieved, fake universes will proliferate and will soon greatly outnumber the real ones. Thus, Nick Bostrom3 has argued that a thinking being here and now is more likely to be in a simulated reality than a real one. CONTENTS
Here Φ stands for the statement ‘I have property ϕ’.In the special case where ϕ is the property of being simulated, (BPI+) reduces to (BPI).(BPI+), more general and therefore prima facie more vulnerable, is the primary target of Weatherson’s attack. He discusses four
VIRTUAL WORLDS
Title: Virtual Worlds Author: Barry Dainton Last modified by: Barry Dainton Created Date: 3/4/2003 6:10:40 PM Document presentation format: On-screen Show DO WE LIVE IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? www.newscientist.com 00 Month 2006 | NewScientist | tions run ancestor simulations. Therefore, if both one and two are false, there will be simulated minds
WWW.SIMULATION-ARGUMENT.COMTRANSLATE THIS PAGE wOFF TBASE N l FFTM 8 GDEF k, O )GPOS t 5 r `GSUB m ֺ JSTF $~ h OaOS/2 8QVx cmap k Ę Jcvt ! fpgm p ( b lgasp k glyf2 l head 66 p hhea !$ hmtx u T loca%\ maxp name Hh * I post T` / L prep } w fg4 h _ 2M H 0 /U O x c`d 8 f2` ` bdabaebeeeffy > ~ i G S | xڭ {pT ǿ{ bx Hb B b $ hQIE( 2 1 j ѩXEA|` 3 8 hG) @ R( h T 1 ` vMH:mf>9 ; Y !x 4 d Ҵ I- iq ] y 1 M ) Uz ^O CUÁL ES LA PROBABILIDAD DE QUE VIVAMOS EN LA MATRIX?TRANSLATE THIS PAGE
Matrix hizo que muchas mentes no tan filosóficas rumiaran acerca de la naturaleza de la realidad. Pero el escenario representado en la película es ridículo: cerebros humanos mantenidos en tanques por máquinas inteligentes sólo para producir energía. THE SIMULATION ARGUMENTARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACTDO WE LIVE IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION It follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day become posthumans who run ancestor-simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation. A number of other consequences of this result are also discussed. "The Simulation Argument is perhaps the first interesting argument for the existence of a
ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? 1 ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? BY NICK BOSTROM This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT FAQ 1. What is the simulation argument? The simulation argument was set forth in a paper published in 2003. A draft of that paper had previously been circulated for a couple of years. WHAT'S THE PROBABILITY THAT WE'RE LIVING IN THE MATRIX? The Matrix got many otherwise not-so-philosophical minds ruminating on the nature of reality. But the scenario depicted in the movie is ridiculous: human brains being kept in tanks by intelligent machines just to produce power. ARE YOU LIVING IN A SIMULATION Are You Living In a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom (2001, May) ABSTRACT This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; A PATCH FOR THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT 3 The first patch The first way to patch the argument starts by noting the empirical claim, argued for in the original paper, that a posthuman civilization would have the capability to run an astronomical number of ancestor simulations, even using only a tiny fraction of its computational resources for that purpose. I, SIM
4 1. Introduction In the article entitled Are You Living in a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom argues, somewhat convincingly I might add, that there’s a good chance that I, you, everyone you ARE YOU A SIM
have any specific evidence that tells on whether we are a Sim or a human. So the credence we each assign to I’m a Sim should equal our best guess as to the percentage of human-like agents that are Sims, which is far above ½. As Glenn Reynolds put it, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?
NATURAL EVIL AND THE SIMULATION HYPOTHESIS Natural Evil and the Simulation Hypothesis David Kyle Johnson Associate Professor of Philosophy King’s College Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 Davidjohnson@kings.edu ARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACT? deny these two. Moore’s Law (computational power increases exponentially, with a doubling time of two years or less) leaves me far from ready to reject the first. THE SIMULATION ARGUMENTARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACTDO WE LIVE IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION It follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day become posthumans who run ancestor-simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation. A number of other consequences of this result are also discussed. "The Simulation Argument is perhaps the first interesting argument for the existence of a
ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? 1 ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? BY NICK BOSTROM This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT FAQ 1. What is the simulation argument? The simulation argument was set forth in a paper published in 2003. A draft of that paper had previously been circulated for a couple of years. WHAT'S THE PROBABILITY THAT WE'RE LIVING IN THE MATRIX? The Matrix got many otherwise not-so-philosophical minds ruminating on the nature of reality. But the scenario depicted in the movie is ridiculous: human brains being kept in tanks by intelligent machines just to produce power. ARE YOU LIVING IN A SIMULATION Are You Living In a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom (2001, May) ABSTRACT This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; A PATCH FOR THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT 3 The first patch The first way to patch the argument starts by noting the empirical claim, argued for in the original paper, that a posthuman civilization would have the capability to run an astronomical number of ancestor simulations, even using only a tiny fraction of its computational resources for that purpose. I, SIM
4 1. Introduction In the article entitled Are You Living in a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom argues, somewhat convincingly I might add, that there’s a good chance that I, you, everyone you ARE YOU A SIM
have any specific evidence that tells on whether we are a Sim or a human. So the credence we each assign to I’m a Sim should equal our best guess as to the percentage of human-like agents that are Sims, which is far above ½. As Glenn Reynolds put it, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?
NATURAL EVIL AND THE SIMULATION HYPOTHESIS Natural Evil and the Simulation Hypothesis David Kyle Johnson Associate Professor of Philosophy King’s College Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 Davidjohnson@kings.edu ARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACT? deny these two. Moore’s Law (computational power increases exponentially, with a doubling time of two years or less) leaves me far from ready to reject the first. ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? If we could create quantum computers, or learn to build computers of nuclear matter or plasma, we could push closer to the theoretical limits: Seth Lloyd calculates an upper bound for a 1 kg computer of 5*10^ 50 logical operations per second on ~10 ^31 bits (Lloyd 2000).However, it suffices for our purposes to use the more conservative estimate that presupposes only currently known design ARE YOU A SIM
have any specific evidence that tells on whether we are a Sim or a human. So the credence we each assign to I’m a Sim should equal our best guess as to the percentage of human-like agents that are Sims, which is far above ½. As Glenn Reynolds put it, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?
INNOCENCE LOST
Innocence Lost Simulation Scenarios: Prospects and Consequences Barry Dainton (2002, October), The University of Liverpool Abstract Those who believe suitably programmed computers could WHY MAKE A MATRIX? AND WHY YOU MIGHT BE IN ONE Faculty of Philosophy, Oxford University. www.nickbostrom.com. Forthcoming in More Matrix and Philosophy: Revolutions and Reloaded Decoded, ed. William Irwin (Open Court, 2005) LIVING IN A SIMULATION 2 Once this capability to simulate universe is achieved, fake universes will proliferate and will soon greatly outnumber the real ones. Thus, Nick Bostrom3 has argued that a thinking being here and now is more likely to be in a simulated reality than a real one. CONTENTS
Here Φ stands for the statement ‘I have property ϕ’.In the special case where ϕ is the property of being simulated, (BPI+) reduces to (BPI).(BPI+), more general and therefore prima facie more vulnerable, is the primary target of Weatherson’s attack. He discusses four
VIRTUAL WORLDS
Title: Virtual Worlds Author: Barry Dainton Last modified by: Barry Dainton Created Date: 3/4/2003 6:10:40 PM Document presentation format: On-screen Show DO WE LIVE IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? www.newscientist.com 00 Month 2006 | NewScientist | tions run ancestor simulations. Therefore, if both one and two are false, there will be simulated minds
WWW.SIMULATION-ARGUMENT.COMTRANSLATE THIS PAGE wOFF TBASE N l FFTM 8 GDEF k, O )GPOS t 5 r `GSUB m ֺ JSTF $~ h OaOS/2 8QVx cmap k Ę Jcvt ! fpgm p ( b lgasp k glyf2 l head 66 p hhea !$ hmtx u T loca%\ maxp name Hh * I post T` / L prep } w fg4 h _ 2M H 0 /U O x c`d 8 f2` ` bdabaebeeeffy > ~ i G S | xڭ {pT ǿ{ bx Hb B b $ hQIE( 2 1 j ѩXEA|` 3 8 hG) @ R( h T 1 ` vMH:mf>9 ; Y !x 4 d Ҵ I- iq ] y 1 M ) Uz ^O CUÁL ES LA PROBABILIDAD DE QUE VIVAMOS EN LA MATRIX?TRANSLATE THIS PAGE
Matrix hizo que muchas mentes no tan filosóficas rumiaran acerca de la naturaleza de la realidad. Pero el escenario representado en la película es ridículo: cerebros humanos mantenidos en tanques por máquinas inteligentes sólo para producir energía. THE SIMULATION ARGUMENTARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACTDO WE LIVE IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION It follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day become posthumans who run ancestor-simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation. A number of other consequences of this result are also discussed. "The Simulation Argument is perhaps the first interesting argument for the existence of a
ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? 1 ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? BY NICK BOSTROM This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT FAQ 1. What is the simulation argument? The simulation argument was set forth in a paper published in 2003. A draft of that paper had previously been circulated for a couple of years. WHAT'S THE PROBABILITY THAT WE'RE LIVING IN THE MATRIX? The Matrix got many otherwise not-so-philosophical minds ruminating on the nature of reality. But the scenario depicted in the movie is ridiculous: human brains being kept in tanks by intelligent machines just to produce power. ARE YOU LIVING IN A SIMULATION Are You Living In a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom (2001, May) ABSTRACT This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; A PATCH FOR THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT 3 The first patch The first way to patch the argument starts by noting the empirical claim, argued for in the original paper, that a posthuman civilization would have the capability to run an astronomical number of ancestor simulations, even using only a tiny fraction of its computational resources for that purpose. I, SIM
4 1. Introduction In the article entitled Are You Living in a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom argues, somewhat convincingly I might add, that there’s a good chance that I, you, everyone you ARE YOU A SIM
have any specific evidence that tells on whether we are a Sim or a human. So the credence we each assign to I’m a Sim should equal our best guess as to the percentage of human-like agents that are Sims, which is far above ½. As Glenn Reynolds put it, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?
NATURAL EVIL AND THE SIMULATION HYPOTHESIS Natural Evil and the Simulation Hypothesis David Kyle Johnson Associate Professor of Philosophy King’s College Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 Davidjohnson@kings.edu ARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACT? deny these two. Moore’s Law (computational power increases exponentially, with a doubling time of two years or less) leaves me far from ready to reject the first. THE SIMULATION ARGUMENTARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACTDO WE LIVE IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION It follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day become posthumans who run ancestor-simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation. A number of other consequences of this result are also discussed. "The Simulation Argument is perhaps the first interesting argument for the existence of a
ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? 1 ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? BY NICK BOSTROM This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT FAQ 1. What is the simulation argument? The simulation argument was set forth in a paper published in 2003. A draft of that paper had previously been circulated for a couple of years. WHAT'S THE PROBABILITY THAT WE'RE LIVING IN THE MATRIX? The Matrix got many otherwise not-so-philosophical minds ruminating on the nature of reality. But the scenario depicted in the movie is ridiculous: human brains being kept in tanks by intelligent machines just to produce power. ARE YOU LIVING IN A SIMULATION Are You Living In a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom (2001, May) ABSTRACT This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; A PATCH FOR THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT 3 The first patch The first way to patch the argument starts by noting the empirical claim, argued for in the original paper, that a posthuman civilization would have the capability to run an astronomical number of ancestor simulations, even using only a tiny fraction of its computational resources for that purpose. I, SIM
4 1. Introduction In the article entitled Are You Living in a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom argues, somewhat convincingly I might add, that there’s a good chance that I, you, everyone you ARE YOU A SIM
have any specific evidence that tells on whether we are a Sim or a human. So the credence we each assign to I’m a Sim should equal our best guess as to the percentage of human-like agents that are Sims, which is far above ½. As Glenn Reynolds put it, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?
NATURAL EVIL AND THE SIMULATION HYPOTHESIS Natural Evil and the Simulation Hypothesis David Kyle Johnson Associate Professor of Philosophy King’s College Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 Davidjohnson@kings.edu ARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACT? deny these two. Moore’s Law (computational power increases exponentially, with a doubling time of two years or less) leaves me far from ready to reject the first. ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? If we could create quantum computers, or learn to build computers of nuclear matter or plasma, we could push closer to the theoretical limits: Seth Lloyd calculates an upper bound for a 1 kg computer of 5*10^ 50 logical operations per second on ~10 ^31 bits (Lloyd 2000).However, it suffices for our purposes to use the more conservative estimate that presupposes only currently known design ARE YOU A SIM
have any specific evidence that tells on whether we are a Sim or a human. So the credence we each assign to I’m a Sim should equal our best guess as to the percentage of human-like agents that are Sims, which is far above ½. As Glenn Reynolds put it, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?
INNOCENCE LOST
Innocence Lost Simulation Scenarios: Prospects and Consequences Barry Dainton (2002, October), The University of Liverpool Abstract Those who believe suitably programmed computers could WHY MAKE A MATRIX? AND WHY YOU MIGHT BE IN ONE Faculty of Philosophy, Oxford University. www.nickbostrom.com. Forthcoming in More Matrix and Philosophy: Revolutions and Reloaded Decoded, ed. William Irwin (Open Court, 2005) LIVING IN A SIMULATION 2 Once this capability to simulate universe is achieved, fake universes will proliferate and will soon greatly outnumber the real ones. Thus, Nick Bostrom3 has argued that a thinking being here and now is more likely to be in a simulated reality than a real one. CONTENTS
Here Φ stands for the statement ‘I have property ϕ’.In the special case where ϕ is the property of being simulated, (BPI+) reduces to (BPI).(BPI+), more general and therefore prima facie more vulnerable, is the primary target of Weatherson’s attack. He discusses four
VIRTUAL WORLDS
Title: Virtual Worlds Author: Barry Dainton Last modified by: Barry Dainton Created Date: 3/4/2003 6:10:40 PM Document presentation format: On-screen Show DO WE LIVE IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? www.newscientist.com 00 Month 2006 | NewScientist | tions run ancestor simulations. Therefore, if both one and two are false, there will be simulated minds
WWW.SIMULATION-ARGUMENT.COMTRANSLATE THIS PAGE wOFF TBASE N l FFTM 8 GDEF k, O )GPOS t 5 r `GSUB m ֺ JSTF $~ h OaOS/2 8QVx cmap k Ę Jcvt ! fpgm p ( b lgasp k glyf2 l head 66 p hhea !$ hmtx u T loca%\ maxp name Hh * I post T` / L prep } w fg4 h _ 2M H 0 /U O x c`d 8 f2` ` bdabaebeeeffy > ~ i G S | xڭ {pT ǿ{ bx Hb B b $ hQIE( 2 1 j ѩXEA|` 3 8 hG) @ R( h T 1 ` vMH:mf>9 ; Y !x 4 d Ҵ I- iq ] y 1 M ) Uz ^O CUÁL ES LA PROBABILIDAD DE QUE VIVAMOS EN LA MATRIX?TRANSLATE THIS PAGE
Matrix hizo que muchas mentes no tan filosóficas rumiaran acerca de la naturaleza de la realidad. Pero el escenario representado en la película es ridículo: cerebros humanos mantenidos en tanques por máquinas inteligentes sólo para producir energía. THE SIMULATION ARGUMENTARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACTDO WE LIVE IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION It follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day become posthumans who run ancestor-simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation. A number of other consequences of this result are also discussed. "The Simulation Argument is perhaps the first interesting argument for the existence of a
THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT FAQ 1. What is the simulation argument? The simulation argument was set forth in a paper published in 2003. A draft of that paper had previously been circulated for a couple of years. ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? 1 ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? BY NICK BOSTROM This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a ARE YOU LIVING IN A SIMULATION Are You Living In a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom (2001, May) ABSTRACT This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; A PATCH FOR THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT 3 The first patch The first way to patch the argument starts by noting the empirical claim, argued for in the original paper, that a posthuman civilization would have the capability to run an astronomical number of ancestor simulations, even using only a tiny fraction of its computational resources for that purpose. NATURAL EVIL AND THE SIMULATION HYPOTHESIS Natural Evil and the Simulation Hypothesis David Kyle Johnson Associate Professor of Philosophy King’s College Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 Davidjohnson@kings.edu ARE YOU A SIM
have any specific evidence that tells on whether we are a Sim or a human. So the credence we each assign to I’m a Sim should equal our best guess as to the percentage of human-like agents that are Sims, which is far above ½. As Glenn Reynolds put it, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?
I, SIM
4 1. Introduction In the article entitled Are You Living in a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom argues, somewhat convincingly I might add, that there’s a good chance that I, you, everyone you WHY MAKE A MATRIX? AND WHY YOU MIGHT BE IN ONE Faculty of Philosophy, Oxford University. www.nickbostrom.com. Forthcoming in More Matrix and Philosophy: Revolutions and Reloaded Decoded, ed. William Irwin (Open Court, 2005) ARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACT? deny these two. Moore’s Law (computational power increases exponentially, with a doubling time of two years or less) leaves me far from ready to reject the first. THE SIMULATION ARGUMENTARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACTDO WE LIVE IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION It follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day become posthumans who run ancestor-simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation. A number of other consequences of this result are also discussed. "The Simulation Argument is perhaps the first interesting argument for the existence of a
THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT FAQ 1. What is the simulation argument? The simulation argument was set forth in a paper published in 2003. A draft of that paper had previously been circulated for a couple of years. ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? 1 ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? BY NICK BOSTROM This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a ARE YOU LIVING IN A SIMULATION Are You Living In a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom (2001, May) ABSTRACT This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; A PATCH FOR THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT 3 The first patch The first way to patch the argument starts by noting the empirical claim, argued for in the original paper, that a posthuman civilization would have the capability to run an astronomical number of ancestor simulations, even using only a tiny fraction of its computational resources for that purpose. NATURAL EVIL AND THE SIMULATION HYPOTHESIS Natural Evil and the Simulation Hypothesis David Kyle Johnson Associate Professor of Philosophy King’s College Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 Davidjohnson@kings.edu ARE YOU A SIM
have any specific evidence that tells on whether we are a Sim or a human. So the credence we each assign to I’m a Sim should equal our best guess as to the percentage of human-like agents that are Sims, which is far above ½. As Glenn Reynolds put it, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?
I, SIM
4 1. Introduction In the article entitled Are You Living in a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom argues, somewhat convincingly I might add, that there’s a good chance that I, you, everyone you WHY MAKE A MATRIX? AND WHY YOU MIGHT BE IN ONE Faculty of Philosophy, Oxford University. www.nickbostrom.com. Forthcoming in More Matrix and Philosophy: Revolutions and Reloaded Decoded, ed. William Irwin (Open Court, 2005) ARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACT? deny these two. Moore’s Law (computational power increases exponentially, with a doubling time of two years or less) leaves me far from ready to reject the first. ARE YOU A SIM
have any specific evidence that tells on whether we are a Sim or a human. So the credence we each assign to I’m a Sim should equal our best guess as to the percentage of human-like agents that are Sims, which is far above ½. As Glenn Reynolds put it, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?
VIRTUAL WORLDS
Title: Virtual Worlds Author: Barry Dainton Last modified by: Barry Dainton Created Date: 3/4/2003 6:10:40 PM Document presentation format: On-screen Show WHY MAKE A MATRIX? AND WHY YOU MIGHT BE IN ONE Faculty of Philosophy, Oxford University. www.nickbostrom.com. Forthcoming in More Matrix and Philosophy: Revolutions and Reloaded Decoded, ed. William Irwin (Open Court, 2005) WHAT'S THE PROBABILITY THAT WE'RE LIVING IN THE MATRIX? The Matrix got many otherwise not-so-philosophical minds ruminating on the nature of reality. But the scenario depicted in the movie is ridiculous: human brains being kept in tanks by intelligent machines just to produce power. ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? If we could create quantum computers, or learn to build computers of nuclear matter or plasma, we could push closer to the theoretical limits: Seth Lloyd calculates an upper bound for a 1 kg computer of 5*10^ 50 logical operations per second on ~10 ^31 bits (Lloyd 2000).However, it suffices for our purposes to use the more conservative estimate that presupposes only currently known design THE SIMULATION A S
THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT: SOME EXPLANATIONS Prof Nick Bostrom Future of Humanity Institute Faculty of Philosophy & James Martin 21. st Century School Oxford University (2008) LIVING IN A SIMULATION 2 Once this capability to simulate universe is achieved, fake universes will proliferate and will soon greatly outnumber the real ones. Thus, Nick Bostrom3 has argued that a thinking being here and now is more likely to be in a simulated reality than a real one. DO WE LIVE IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? www.newscientist.com 00 Month 2006 | NewScientist | tions run ancestor simulations. Therefore, if both one and two are false, there will be simulated minds
CUÁL ES LA PROBABILIDAD DE QUE VIVAMOS EN LA MATRIX?TRANSLATE THIS PAGE
Matrix hizo que muchas mentes no tan filosóficas rumiaran acerca de la naturaleza de la realidad. Pero el escenario representado en la película es ridículo: cerebros humanos mantenidos en tanques por máquinas inteligentes sólo para producir energía. THE SIMULATION ARGUMENTARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACTDO WE LIVE IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION Nick Bostrom Philosophical Quarterly, 2003, Vol. 53, No. 211, pp. 243-255. (An earlier draft was circulated in 2001) THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT FAQ 1. What is the simulation argument? The simulation argument was set forth in a paper published in 2003. A draft of that paper had previously been circulated for a couple of years. ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? 1 ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? BY NICK BOSTROM This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a ARE YOU LIVING IN A SIMULATIONNICK BOSTROM SIMULATION ARGUMENTNICK BOSTROM SIMULATION
Are You Living In a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom (2001, May) ABSTRACT This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; A PATCH FOR THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT 3 The first patch The first way to patch the argument starts by noting the empirical claim, argued for in the original paper, that a posthuman civilization would have the capability to run an astronomical number of ancestor simulations, even using only a tiny fraction of its computational resources for that purpose. I, SIMTHE SIMULATION THEORYARGUMENTS AGAINST SIMULATION HYPOTHESISSIMULATION ARGUMENT ORIGINSIMULATION ARGUMENT WEBSITESIMULATION HYPOTHESIS 4 1. Introduction In the article entitled Are You Living in a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom argues, somewhat convincingly I might add, that there’s a good chance that I, you, everyone you NATURAL EVIL AND THE SIMULATION HYPOTHESISTHE SIMULATION ARGUMENTARGUMENTS AGAINST SIMULATION HYPOTHESISBOSTROM SIMULATION PDFNICK BOSTROM SIMULATIONSIMULATION ARGUMENT WEBSITEARE WE LIVING IN A SIMULATION
Natural Evil and the Simulation Hypothesis David Kyle Johnson Associate Professor of Philosophy King’s College Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 Davidjohnson@kings.edu ARE YOU A SIM
have any specific evidence that tells on whether we are a Sim or a human. So the credence we each assign to I’m a Sim should equal our best guess as to the percentage of human-like agents that are Sims, which is far above ½. As Glenn Reynolds put it, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?
WHY MAKE A MATRIX? AND WHY YOU MIGHT BE IN ONE Faculty of Philosophy, Oxford University. www.nickbostrom.com. Forthcoming in More Matrix and Philosophy: Revolutions and Reloaded Decoded, ed. William Irwin (Open Court, 2005) ARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACT?THE SIMULATION THEORY
deny these two. Moore’s Law (computational power increases exponentially, with a doubling time of two years or less) leaves me far from ready to reject the first. THE SIMULATION ARGUMENTARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACTDO WE LIVE IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION Nick Bostrom Philosophical Quarterly, 2003, Vol. 53, No. 211, pp. 243-255. (An earlier draft was circulated in 2001) THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT FAQ 1. What is the simulation argument? The simulation argument was set forth in a paper published in 2003. A draft of that paper had previously been circulated for a couple of years. ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? 1 ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? BY NICK BOSTROM This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a ARE YOU LIVING IN A SIMULATIONNICK BOSTROM SIMULATION ARGUMENTNICK BOSTROM SIMULATION
Are You Living In a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom (2001, May) ABSTRACT This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; A PATCH FOR THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT 3 The first patch The first way to patch the argument starts by noting the empirical claim, argued for in the original paper, that a posthuman civilization would have the capability to run an astronomical number of ancestor simulations, even using only a tiny fraction of its computational resources for that purpose. I, SIMTHE SIMULATION THEORYARGUMENTS AGAINST SIMULATION HYPOTHESISSIMULATION ARGUMENT ORIGINSIMULATION ARGUMENT WEBSITESIMULATION HYPOTHESIS 4 1. Introduction In the article entitled Are You Living in a Computer Simulation? Nick Bostrom argues, somewhat convincingly I might add, that there’s a good chance that I, you, everyone you NATURAL EVIL AND THE SIMULATION HYPOTHESISTHE SIMULATION ARGUMENTARGUMENTS AGAINST SIMULATION HYPOTHESISBOSTROM SIMULATION PDFNICK BOSTROM SIMULATIONSIMULATION ARGUMENT WEBSITEARE WE LIVING IN A SIMULATION
Natural Evil and the Simulation Hypothesis David Kyle Johnson Associate Professor of Philosophy King’s College Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 Davidjohnson@kings.edu ARE YOU A SIM
have any specific evidence that tells on whether we are a Sim or a human. So the credence we each assign to I’m a Sim should equal our best guess as to the percentage of human-like agents that are Sims, which is far above ½. As Glenn Reynolds put it, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?
WHY MAKE A MATRIX? AND WHY YOU MIGHT BE IN ONE Faculty of Philosophy, Oxford University. www.nickbostrom.com. Forthcoming in More Matrix and Philosophy: Revolutions and Reloaded Decoded, ed. William Irwin (Open Court, 2005) ARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACT?THE SIMULATION THEORY
deny these two. Moore’s Law (computational power increases exponentially, with a doubling time of two years or less) leaves me far from ready to reject the first. ARE YOU A SIM
have any specific evidence that tells on whether we are a Sim or a human. So the credence we each assign to I’m a Sim should equal our best guess as to the percentage of human-like agents that are Sims, which is far above ½. As Glenn Reynolds put it, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?
VIRTUAL WORLDS
Title: Virtual Worlds Author: Barry Dainton Last modified by: Barry Dainton Created Date: 3/4/2003 6:10:40 PM Document presentation format: On-screen Show WHY MAKE A MATRIX? AND WHY YOU MIGHT BE IN ONE Faculty of Philosophy, Oxford University. www.nickbostrom.com. Forthcoming in More Matrix and Philosophy: Revolutions and Reloaded Decoded, ed. William Irwin (Open Court, 2005) WHAT'S THE PROBABILITY THAT WE'RE LIVING IN THE MATRIX? The Matrix got many otherwise not-so-philosophical minds ruminating on the nature of reality. But the scenario depicted in the movie is ridiculous: human brains being kept in tanks by intelligent machines just to produce power. ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? If we could create quantum computers, or learn to build computers of nuclear matter or plasma, we could push closer to the theoretical limits: Seth Lloyd calculates an upper bound for a 1 kg computer of 5*10^ 50 logical operations per second on ~10 ^31 bits (Lloyd 2000).However, it suffices for our purposes to use the more conservative estimate that presupposes only currently known design THE SIMULATION A S
THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT: SOME EXPLANATIONS Prof Nick Bostrom Future of Humanity Institute Faculty of Philosophy & James Martin 21. st Century School Oxford University (2008) LIVING IN A SIMULATION 2 Once this capability to simulate universe is achieved, fake universes will proliferate and will soon greatly outnumber the real ones. Thus, Nick Bostrom3 has argued that a thinking being here and now is more likely to be in a simulated reality than a real one. DO WE LIVE IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? www.newscientist.com 00 Month 2006 | NewScientist | tions run ancestor simulations. Therefore, if both one and two are false, there will be simulated minds
CUÁL ES LA PROBABILIDAD DE QUE VIVAMOS EN LA MATRIX? Matrix hizo que muchas mentes no tan filosóficas rumiaran acerca de la naturaleza de la realidad. Pero el escenario representado en la película es ridículo: cerebros humanos mantenidos en tanques por máquinas inteligentes sólo para producir energía. THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT Here you can peruse the debate that followed the paper presenting the simulation argument. The original paper is here, as are popular synopses, scholarly papers commenting or expanding on or critiquing the first paper, and some replies by the author. The simulation argument continues to attract a great deal of attention. I apologize for not usually being able to respond to individual inquiries. I hope you might find what you're looking for on this page. ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? ORIGINAL
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NICK BOSTROM. _Philosophical Quarterly,_ 2003, Vol. 53, No. 211, pp. 243-255. (An earlier draft was circulated in 2001) *
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This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; (2) any posthuman civilization is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of their evolutionary history (or variations thereof); (3) we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation. It follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day become posthumans who run ancestor-simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation. A number of other consequences of this result are also discussed. > _ "The Simulation Argument is perhaps the first interesting argument > for the existence of a Creator in 2000 years." _ - David Pearce > (exaggerated compliment) > _ "Thank you so much, Dr. Bostrom. You have proved that my > psychiatrist was wrong all along." _ - Anonymous correpondent > (misfiring compliment) Some Popular Synopses NICK BOSTROM INTERVIEWED ABOUT THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT PHILOSOPHY BITES. _14 August, 2011_ Interview for the Philosophy Bites podcast. DAVID CHALMERS INTERVIEWED ON BLOGGINGHEADS.COM DAVID CHALMERS _May 22, 2007_ David Chalmers, a philosopher at ANU, talks about the simulation argument and assigns 20% probability to being in a simulation. DISCUSSION ON THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT FOR THE _AI PODCAST_ WITH LEX FRIDMAN
AI PODCAST #83 WITH LEX FRIDMAN _March 25th, 2020_ ARE OUR HEADS IN THE CLOUD? SCIENCE FICTION OR FACT? RICHARD DAWKINS
There is a powerful logical argument that they could very possibly be science fact.
OUR LIVES, CONTROLLED FROM SOME GUY'S COUCH JOHN TIERNY _ New York Times, _ 14 August, 2007 Article in NY Times
THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT: WHY THE PROBABILITY THAT YOU ARE LIVING IN THE MATRIX IS QUITE HIGH. NICK BOSTROM _Times Higher Educational Supplement,_ May 16, 2003 Another popularization. (Has been translated into Spanish , Russian.)
DO WE LIVE IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION? NICK BOSTROM _New Scientist_ , Vol. 192, No. 2579, 19 _November_ , pp. 38-39, 2006.
A very brief, popular synopsis. But please read the original paper (above) instead if you can. WHY MAKE A MATRIX? AND WHY YOU MIGHT BE IN ONE. NICK BOSTROM In _More Matrix and Philosophy: Revolutions and Reloaded Decoded, ed._ William Irwin (Open Court, 2005). Yet another popularization, for Matrix-aficionados. EXPLAINED BY ELON MUSK. VOX 2016
VIDEO INTERVIEW OF NICK BOSTROM ON THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT ADAM FORD _February 2013_ Frequently asked questions THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT FAQ NICK BOSTROM _2011_
Answers to 16 common questions. Scholarly commentaries and follow-on studies HOW TO LIVE IN A SIMULATION Html Pdf
ROBIN HANSON _Journal of Evolution and Technology,_ Vol. 7, 2001 If you might be living in a simulation then all else equal you should care less about others, live more for today, make your world look more likely to become rich, expect to and try more to participate in pivotal events, be more entertaining and praiseworthy, and keep the famous people around you happier and more interested in you. THE MATRIX AS METAPHYSICS DAVID CHALMERS _2003_ On several Brains-in-vats and Matrix-like scenarios. Argues in support of what is also my contention, that the simulation-hypothesis is not a radical skeptical hypothesis. INNOCENCE LOST: SIMULATION SCENARIOS: PROSPECTS AND CONSEQUENCES BARRY DAINTON _Draft,_2002 Those who believe suitably programmed computers could enjoy conscious experience of the sort we enjoy must accept the possibility that their own experience is being generated as part of a computerized simulation. It would be a mistake to dismiss this is just one more radical sceptical possibility: for as Bostrom has recently noted, if advances in computer technology were to continue at close to present rates, there would be a strong probability that we are each living in a computer simulation. The first part of this paper is devoted to broadening the scope of the argument: even if computers cannot sustain consciousness (as many dualists and materialists believe), there may still be a strong likelihood that we are living simulated lives. The implications of this result are the focus of the second part of the paper. The topics discussed include: the Doomsday argument, scepticism, the different modes of virtual life, transcendental idealism, the Problem of Evil, and simulation ethics. ARE YOU A SIM?
BRIAN WEATHERSON _Philosophical Quarterly,_ 53: 425-31, 2003. Weatherson is prepared to accept the Simulation Argument up to, but not including, the final step, in which I use the Bland Principle of Indifference. In this paper, he examines four different ways to understand this principle and argues that none of them serves the purpose. (For my reply, see the paper below.) Note that Weatherson accepts the third disjunct in the conclusion of the Simulation Argument - i.e. that there are many more simulated human-like persons than non-simulated ones. By contrast, I do not accept this: I think we currently lack grounds for eliminating either of the three disjuncts. LIVING IN A SIMULATED UNIVERSE. JOHN D. BARROW _Universe or Multiverse? ed. Bernard Carr (Cambridge University Press):_ pp. 481-486, 2007 We explain why, if we live in a simulated reality, we might expect to see occasional glitches and small drifts in the supposed constants and laws of Nature over time. THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT: REPLY TO WEATHERSON. NICK BOSTROM _Philosophical Quarterly _ Vol. 55, No. 218, pp. 90-97, 2005
My reply to Weatherson's paper (above). I argue he has misinterpreted the relevant indifference principle and that he has not provided any sound argument against the correct interpretation, nor has he addressed the arguments for this principle that I gave in the original paper. There also a few words on the difference between the Simulation Argument and traditional brain-in-a-vat arguments, and on so-called epistemological externalism. SIMULATION SCENARIOS BARRY DAINTON Powerpoint presentation, 2003 Covers many related issues, but may be hard to understand without the oral presentation that is meant to go with these 79 slides. THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT AGAIN. ANTHONY BRUECKNER _Analysis,_ Vol. 68, No. 3, pp. 224-226, 2008. Short article by Brueckner in which he proffers "a new way of thinking about Bostrom's argument". (See below for my reply.) THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT: SOME EXPLANATIONS NICK BOSTROM _Analysis,_ Vol. 69, No. 3, pp. 458-261, 2009 My response to Brueckner (above), in which I argue that he has misconstrued the simulation argument. I also argue that he is mistaken in his critique of the idea that simulated beings may themselves create ancestor-simulations. HISTORICAL SIMULATIONS - MOTIVATIONAL, ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES PETER S. JENKINS _Journal of Futures Studies,_ Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 23-42, 2006
A future society will very likely have the technological ability and the motivation to create large numbers of completely realistic historical simulations and be able to overcome any ethical and legal obstacles to doing so. It is thus highly probable that we are a form of artificial intelligence inhabiting one of these simulations. To avoid stacking (i.e. simulations within simulations), the termination of these simulations is likely to be the point in history when the technology to create them first became widely available, (estimated to be 2050). Long range planning beyond this date would therefore be futile.
ARE WE LIVING IN A MATRIX? WHAT CAN COMPUTERS TELL US ABOUT GOD? HOOMAN KATARAI Powerpoint presentation, 2004 An MIT computer science grad student theologizes. THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT ERIC STEINHART _Ars Disputandi,_ Vol. 10, pp. 1566-5399, 2010 Nick Bostrom’s Simulation Argument (SA) has many intriguing theological implications. We work out some of them here. We show how the SA can be used to develop novel versions of the Cosmological and Design Arguments. We then develop some of the affinities between Bostrom’s naturalistic theogony and more traditional theological topics. We look at the resurrection of the body and at theodicy. We conclude with some reflections on the relations between the SA and Neoplatonism (friendly) and between the SA and theism (less friendly). I, SIM - AN EXPLORATION OF THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT ANDERS HAMMARSTROM 2008 A student's MA thesis A PATCH FOR THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT NICK BOSTROM & MARCIN KULCZYCKI _Analysis,_ Vol. 71, No., 1, pp. 54-61, 2011
This article reports on a newly discovered bug in the original simulation argument. Two different ways of patching the argument are proposed, each of which preserves the original conclusion. NATURAL EVIL AND THE SIMULATION HYPOTHESIS DAVID KYLE JOHNSON _Philo, Fall-Winter issue,_ Vol. 14, No. 2., 2011 Some theists maintain that they need not answer the threat posed to theistic belief by natural evil; they have reason enough to believe that God exists and it renders impotent any threat that natural evil poses to theism. Explicating how God and natural evil co-exist is not necessary since they already know both exist. I will argue that, even granting theists the knowledge they claim, this does not leave them in an agreeable position. It commits the theist to a very unpalatable position: our universe was not designed by God and is instead, most likely, a computer simulation. CONSTRAINTS ON THE UNIVERSE AS A NUMERICAL SIMULATION SILAS R. BEANE, ZOHREH DAVOUDI, MARTIN J. SAVAGEAVID 2012 A low-level physics simulation using the simplest simulation methods, which simulated our universe on a grid with finite resolution, would result in some potentially observable distortions of the simulated physics because of the rotational symmertry breaking effects of the simulation lattice. I would think that even the earlist simulations of systems sufficiently complex to contain observers would make use of powerful computational shortcuts that would eliminate the opportunity to observe any such discrepancies (mostly the simulation would take place at a much higher level of abstraction in order to reduce the computational demands). ON THE 'SIMULATION ARGUMENT' AND SELECTIVE SKEPTICISM JONATHAN BIRCH _Erkenntnis,_ Vol. 78, No. 1, pp. 95-107, 2013 (requires journal subscription) Develops an objection similar to the one discussed under question 4 in the Q&A.
THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT WILLIAM ECKHARDT _In Paradoxes in Probability Theory_ (Springer), chapter 4 (book link) A critical discussion in the context of the doomsday argument. THE DOOMSDAY ARGUMENT AND THE SIMULATION ARGUMENT PETER J. LEWIS _Synthese,_ January 2013 (requires journal subscription)
Analyzes some analogies and disanalogies between the doomsday argument and the simulation argument, and concludes that the former fails whille the latter succeeds. Some background readings Traditional philosophical skepticism and brain-in-a-vat arguments: SKEPTICISM: A CONTEMPORARY READER DEROSE, K. AND WARFIELD, T. A. (EDS.) _Oxford University Press, Oxford. 1999._
On anticipated technological capability of running realistic simulations:
WHOLE BRAIN EMULATION: A ROADMAP SANDBERG, A. AND BOSTROM, N. _Technical Report #2008-3, Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford University, 2008_ MINIMUM ENERGY REQUIREMENTS OF INFORMATION TRANSFER AND COMPUTING. BREMERMANN, H. J. _International Journal of Theoretical Physics 21: 203-217, 1982_
SUPERINTELLIGENCE: PATHS, DANGERS, STRATEGIES BOSTROM, N. (2014) _Oxford University Press, Oxford._ ENGINES OF CREATION: THE COMING ERA OF NANOTECHNOLOGY. DREXLER, K. E. _London, Forth Estate, 1985_ HOW LONG BEFORE SUPERINTELLIGENCE? BOSTROM, N. _International Journal of Futures Studies, Vol. 2, 1998_ NANOSYSTEMS: MOLECULAR MACHINERY, MANUFACTURING, AND COMPUTATION. DREXLER, K. E. _New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1999_ MATRIOSHKA BRAINS.
DREXLER, K. E. _New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1992_ NANOMEDICINE: VOLUME 1: BASIC CAPABILITIES. FREITAS, R. A. , JR. _Landes Bioscience, 1998_ THE AGE OF SPIRITUAL MACHINES: WHEN COMPUTERS EXCEED HUMAN INTELLIGENCE
KURZWEIL, R.. _New York, Viking, 1999_ ULTIMATE PHYSICAL LIMITS TO COMPUTATION LLOYD, S. _Nature 406 (31 August): 1047-1054, 2000_ MIND CHILDREN
MORAVEC, H. _Harvard, Harvard University Press, 1989_ ROBOT: MERE MACHINE TO TRANSCENDENT MIND MORAVEC, H. _New York, Oxford University Press, 1999_ PIGS IN CYBERSPACE
MORAVEC, H. _Extropy #10, Winter/Spring issue. 1993_ THE PHYSICS OF INFORMATION PROCESSING SUPEROBJECTS: THE DAILY LIFE AMONG THE JUPITER BRAINS SANDBERG, A. _Journal of Evolution and Technology, Vol. 5., 1999_ THE PHYSICS OF IMMORTALITY FRANK J. TIPLER _Doubleday, 1994_ Existential risks (How we could fail to develop the required technologies):
EXISTENTIAL RISKS: ANALYZING HUMAN EXTINCTION SCENARIOS AND RELATED HAZARDS
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NICK BOSTROM _Journal of Evolution and Technology, Vol. 9, 2002_ EXISTENTIAL RISKS REDUCTION AS GLOBAL PRIORITY Html Pdf
NICK BOSTROM _Global Policy Journal, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 15-31, 2013_ The methodology of observation selection effects: ANTHROPIC BIAS: OBSERVATION SELECTION EFFECTS IN SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY
NICK BOSTROM _Routledge, New York. 2002_ ANTHROPIC-PRINCIPLE.COM NICK BOSTROM _Website containing introductions and preprints_ Miscellaneous
THE PLANETARIUM HYPOTHESIS: A RESOLUTION OF THE FERMI PARADOX STEPHEN BAXTER _Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, Vol. 54, no. 5/6, pp. 210-216. 2001._ Some simulation-scenarios depicted in fiction: BEDLAM
CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRE _Novel, 2013_ PERMUTATION CITY
GREG EGAN _Novel 1995_ THE MATRIX
DIRECTED BY ANDY WACHOWSKI AND LARRY WACHOWSKI _Film, parts I-III (1999-2003)_
THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR DIRECTED BY JOSEPH RUSNAK _Film 1999_ VANILLA SKY
DIRECTED BY CAMERON CROWE _Film, 2001, based on the film Open Your Eyes_
OPEN YOUR EYES (ABRES LOS OJOS) DIRECTED BY ALEJANDRO AMENÁBAR _Film, 1997_ I DON'T KNOW, TIMMY, BEING GOD IS A BIG RESPONSIBILITY SAM HUGHES _Short story, 2007_ WELT AM DRAHT
DIRECTED BY RAINER FASSBINDER _Film, 1973. (Trevor Levick suggests this might be the original of all Matrix-type films.)_ Note: This is by no means a complete list. Some others include Simulacron III (1963) , aka Counterfeit World, by Daniel F. Galouye, which was made into the movie Welt Am Draht (1973) by Rainer Werner Fassbinder (The Thirteenth Floor was also based on Simulacron III); Exit to Reality (1997) by Edith Forbes; Otherland by Tad Williams (1996-2001); the film Dark City (1950, 1998); eXistenZ (film directed by David Cronenberg, 1999); many stories by Philip K. Dick; Realtime Interrupt (1995) by James P. Hogan, etc. etc. Jay Shreib produced a play inspired by the simulation argument, World of Wires, which opened in New York in January 2012. Miscellaneous
WORLD OF WIRES
_A play inspired by the simulation argument, New York, 2012._ NICK PASZTOR DROPS A BEAT _Simulation Argument (Extended Simulated Remix)_ About
NICK BOSTROM
_Photo credit: David Vintiner _ Nick Bostrom is a professor at Oxford University, where he directs the Future of Humanity Institute (FHI) . His homepage is at nickbostrom.com . BIBLIOGRAPHY
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