by Bo Cochran
Ancestor simulations is a belief proposed by Nick Bostrom, a professor at Oxford University, he believes that, in the future, it will be possible to simulate the actions of all the neurons in the brain and simulate the sensory input to that brain with enough accuracy to convince the simulation that it is a real person. For it to happen at such a scale as our universe, would seem impossible, but Bostrom made some calculations that show that a super advanced civilization could do this, on such a scale that these virtual minds tremendously outnumber real minds. There are many articles, videos and interviews on the topic and even people like Neil deGrasse Tyson have backed up this belief.
An advanced civilization might want to run such simulations for science, so it can understand its own history, to study the behavior of the types of minds that lived in the past. How would this all be possible? According to experts on the matter, this civilization would need a computer the size of a large planet. Bostrom’s biggest argument for this belief is called the simulation argument, which he states that, if ancestor simulations are something an advanced civilization would end up creating, then most of the self aware minds that ever come into existence, are simulated ones. Another argument for this belief is the idea of the Boltzmann brain, which argues that in an infinite multiverse, it should be tremendously more common for particles to randomly assemble into a brain that is having the exact same experience as you are having right now, than for particles to create big bangs.Ancestor simulations is a belief proposed by Nick Bostrom, a professor at Oxford University, he believes that, in the future, it will be possible to simulate the actions of all the neurons in the brain and simulate the sensory input to that brain with enough accuracy to convince the simulation that it is a real person. For it to happen at such a scale as our universe, would seem impossible, but Bostrom made some calculations that show that a super advanced civilization could do this, on such a scale that these virtual minds tremendously outnumber real minds. There are many articles, videos and interviews on the topic and even people like Neil deGrasse Tyson have backed up this belief.
Another argument for this belief includes the Copernican principle and the anthropic principle, which loosely states that we aren’t in a special place of the universe, we are in a typical galaxy, with one exception, our place in the universe must be able to produce and sustain life. So if the virtual minds of an ancestor simulation are vastly more common than the original living minds that created the simulation, and if the simulated experience is completely consistent with our own experience, then it is more likely that we are those typical observers, statistically speaking.
Bostrom also states that the chances that we are a simulation is less than 50%. This is due to the fact that a civilization is just as likely to die out before they have a chance to create such advancements, or an advanced civilization would just as likely choose to not make these types of simulations. Also, there are no experiments that can be done to disprove this belief, making it unfalsifiable, which is a huge red flag. This belief is really only popular for a few scientists and people who interested in such extraordinary beliefs, due to the fact that this belief goes against the vast majority of religions and there is no evidence of this belief. It is also not popular due to the fact, most, if not all people, want a meaning in life, and being a simulation would make that seem unimportant.
A lot of advancements in science would have to occur in order for ancestor simulations to be created, but according to scientists, we will be able to create such simulations on a way smaller scale in one or two generations. The fact that we all could just be a simulation in a planet sized computer might cause a lot of existential angst, but the idea that we could also be the people that come up with such advancements should be more uplifting. There are a lot of unknowns in this world and there are many answers in life that we will never obtain. I think, regardless of how our existence came to be, we should all live life like it is of the utmost importance, like everything you do as an individual is just as meaningful as anyone else who has lived on this planet.
Sources
https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/anthropic-principle.htm
http://nautil.us/blog/can-many_worlds-theory-rescue-us-from-boltzmann-brains
This is one of the most interesting conspiracy theories that I have come across and it really made my head hurt thinking about it, because if we’re a simulation then the people that created us could also be a simulation and then the cycle can go on and on which is crazy to think about. I find the most convincing aspect of this theory is the fact that people like Neil deGrasse Tyson and even Elon Musk who are some of the most established people in science believe in this. I feel like this is such a sad thing to believe in, because like you said it makes it seem like we have no real purpose in life, so I agree with you we should just live our lives regardless of if we’re actually a simulation or not.
This was very interesting to read about and really made me think. It’s kind of scary to imagine a civilization such as the one described. If we are capable of creating a simulation like that, who knows how far that could go. It reminds me of the belief that robots could become advanced enough and start obtaining their own thoughts and feelings.
I’ve never heard of this subject prior to this post. It sounds like something from the outer limits or Twilight Zone. I understand the use of this if there were major sciences behind it. I wonder how far the simulations could go if it worked as said.
I really like this post and i find the topic fascinating. We have all played SIMS. I can only assume games such as this will get better with time. Why wouldn’t they become good enough where the characters in the game weren’t able to tell they weren’t real people? It seems totally possibly to me that an advanced civilationsions could even use simulations like this to imagine the past or predict the future. Or they could make computer individuals live in a giant amusement park, why not?
Hi Bo,
The topic is fascinating and reminds me of the movie Matrix. I agree with you and the comments above that whether we are just a ‘simulation’ or ‘code’, it does not influence how we live our lives. If we think about the whole universe, our existence is just an instantaneous point that seems too tiny to be important. But if that is what we are, why do we bother that what if we are the characters in the Matrix or a simulation? All we can do is to live the best of our life.
I’ve never heard of this and find it very interesting! I think that its so weird to think that “someone” who is a simulation, but not physically human could take a presence in this world. However, I wonder how long that could on for before everyone is a simulation; and if that came would we even need to live on earth?
This is such an interesting topic, I never really heard of anything like it, but i do think it is very interesting how certain authority figures are able to propel such crazy ideas into becoming main stream conspiracy theories.
I totally agree! i think that authority figures always have the upper hand with these types of extra ordinary beliefs because we follow them and they have so much power with what we believe. It is insane that people actually believe in these things but when it has outward appeal of science, and authority figures endorsing it, it is no wonder people believe in these things.
Bo, I really enjoyed reading your blog post. I thought it was interesting to read about something that was focused more on the future possibilities than the past. I thought you did a very nice job explaining how he got to this belief and where he wants to go with it. You talked about how there are many articles, videos and interviews on this topic, where could we find those? Is this something that could have the potential to be backed up scientifically?
Hey Bo,
I had never heard of this before and it is really interesting. I do like thinking in this sort of philosophical “what if”nature, but its all fun and games for me, because there is no evidence or hard data to back it up. It is merely hear say. I have heard celebrities like Joe Rogan speak about this on his podcast and he believes it could be a possibility. I guess theres no reason I shouldnt believe its possible, but I would rather not!
Charlie
Hello!
This is a really interesting topic for your blog post! It sort of reminded me of a Rick and Morty episode to be honest! The fact that we are just a simulation and created basically is a scary thought. I definitely think it would rub some people the wrong way because I think most people want to find meaning in life. I find it interesting that the topics you spoke on, people believe may be possible in a few generations. I think technology is crazy and can do wild things so anything is possible!!