Is it so far-fetched to believe society is a simulation? The idea that humanity could all depend on what some random guy on his computer thinks is entertaining is quite interesting and could explain the infinite “glitches” in reality. According to Nick Bostrom, there are three possibilities to the simulation argument; civilization as we know it will go extinct, future simulations lose interest in creating simulations, or we are living in a simulation. The question remains: could life be a matrix, and how can someone prove whether or not it is?
Character Analysis
Nick Bostrom is a Swedish professor at the University of Oxford and is a self-proclaimed polymath, a person of ride-ranging knowledge or learning. He has many qualities that make him and his work more attainable for his growing audience including being determined, accomplished, and outspoken.
Nick Bostrom can certainly be described as accomplished. He has been named as one of the top 100 Global Thinkers in the Foreign Policy magazine twice (“Professor named as one of the world’s ‘Top 100 Thinkers’”1). He also emphasizes that “He is a recipient of a Eugene R. Gannon award (one person selected annually worldwide from the fields off philosophy, mathematics, the arts and other humanities, and the natural sciences)” (Bostrom 1). His website also acknowledges that “He was included on Prospect’s World Thinkers list, the youngest person in the top 15” (1). He is also a published author and Bostrom states “His writings have been translated into 28 languages, and there have been more than 100 translations and reprints of his work” (1). Raffi Khatchadourian, a writer for The New Yorker, states “Bostrom is arguably the leading transhumanist philosopher today, a position achieved by bringing order to ideas that might otherwise never have survived outside the half-crazy Internet ecosystem where the formed“ (“The Doomsday Invention will artificial intelligence bring us utopia or destruction?”1). He is also described as someone “who is globally celebrated for his work on existential risk, the anthropic, human enhancement ethics, super intelligence risks, the reversal test and consequentialism” (1). Nick Bostrom has been recognized and awarded multiple times for his brilliant and out of the box ambitious proposals and hypothesis’.
Nick Bostrom has also been described as determined in his work. He admits that “He is the founding Director of the Future of Humanity Institute, a multidisciplinary research center which enables a few exceptional mathematicians, philosophers, and scientists to think carefully about global priorities and big questions for humanity” (Bostrom 1). He also states on his home page that “He is the author of some 200 publications, including Anthropic Bias (Routledge, 2002), Global Catastrophic Risks (ed., OUP, 2008), and Human Enhancement (ed., OUP 2009), and the forthcoming book Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies (OUP, 2014)” (1). Raffi Khatchadourian comments “While Nick Bostrom’s work keeps him at Oxford university, his wife and child reside in Montreal. They skype multiple times each day and only see each other in person when they can fly out to meet one another” (“The Doomsday Invention will artificial intelligence bring us utopia or destruction?” 1) Even though Nick Bostrom has a family, the difference in interest keeps them apart, per their own request due to comfortability in the place they reside, and Bostrom’s burning desire for answers. A Famous Philosopher staff member also commented on Bostrom’s determination by adding that “He has conducted extensive research into the complex queries posed by the dynamics of the probability theory, the philosophy of science and the strategic implications of emerging and future technologies” (“Nick Bostrom”1). Bostrom added to this acknowledgement by saying:
I have also originated or contributed to the development of ideas such as the simulation argument, existential risk, transhumanism, information hazards, superintelligence strategy, astronomical waste, crucial considerations, observation selection effects in cosmology and other contexts of self-locating belief, anthropic shadow, the unilateralist’s curse, the parliamentary model of decision making under normative uncertainty, the notion of a singleton, the vulnerable world hypothesis, along with a number of analyses of future technological capabilities and concomitant ethical issues, risks, and opportunities. (1)
Nick Bostrom continues to build his desire to research and detail his responses through writing and speaking on numerous occasions about a variety of topics.
Nick Bostrom is also very outspoken. He has published multiple writings on different topics including the simulation argument, human enhancement, and the development of artificial intelligence (Bostrom 1). He has also been featured on Ted Talk and has conducted many lecturers on his hypothesis and by doing so, he’s gained a wide-ranging fan base. Nick Bostrom believes “Those seeking to make the world better should therefore take it as important to get to the bottom of these matters, or else to find some way of dealing wisely with our cluelessness if it is inescapable” (1). He has made each one of his hypotheses clear and he confidently backs them up in the process. He has also been interviewed multiple times, and in each one he fully breaks down his process and explains why he thinks or believes the way he does. Through a variety of platforms, Nick Bostrom publicly states his opinion, hypotheses, and overall thoughts to society with an overwhelming confidence.
Nick Bostrom can be characterized in a variety of ways but in each trait, there is an abundance of intelligence being displayed through him. The most detailed traits shown in Bostrom’s personality are accomplished, outspoken, and determined. With years of experience and background, Bostrom has made an impressive name for himself in the name of science and psychology, while sacrificing his normal family life.
Conspiracy Descriptions
In Nick Bostrom’s, The Simulation Argument, there are three possibilities for the future of our civilization. He does not consider this a theory, rather a hypothesis that explains the possibility for evolution of our technological advancement. The document openly states that one of the following statements are true; our civilization becomes extinct, future civilizations become bored with making simulations, or we are currently living in a simulation.
The first proposition in Nick Bostrom’s argument is that “all civilizations at our stage of technological advancement go extinct before reaching technological maturity” (Nick Bostrom -The Simulation Argument(full)). One example of humanities demise being that humans develop the technology needed to advance but in the process of doing so, they ultimately destroy themselves. Another example being that humanity develops artificial intelligence so powerful and humanlike that they take over and destroy all living humans. Without advancing technologically, this possibility can be used as evidence that our society is not simulated.
The second proposition in the Simulation Argument is that all civilizations existing become bored or lose interest in creating “ancestor simulations”. An ancestor simulation is a term coined by Nick Bostrom when referring to the simulations with the simulated people in them being conscious with a brain developed using individual neurons. This possibility explains why civilizations that did reach technological maturity are not creating simulations like the ones Nick Bostrom details in his hypothesis. If this possibility were true, it could be used as evidence to explain that our society is not living in a computer simulation.
The third proposition in his argument is that “we are most definitely living in a computer simulation” (Nick Bostrom – The Simulation Argument (Full)). If by chance, civilizations do not go extinct before technologically advancing enough to create ancestor simulations and do not lose interest in created said simulations, then it can be concluded that life as humans on earth know it, is fake. These civilizations have the ability to create infinite civilizations whose experiences are indistinguishable from reality. Who is to say that said simulated civilizations do not create ones of their own and those simulated people create their own and so on? The ratio of true civilizations to simulated ones would be extremely disproportionate meaning that it is most likely that we are living in a simulation than not. Nick Bostrom states “The idea that this society will one day become posthumans who run ancestor simulations is false unless this society is currently living in one” (Nick Bostrom – The Simulation Argument (Full)).
In a survey of 26 random students, 17 out of the total believe we are living in a simulation. When asked why they believe this statement so strongly most of them had experiences in which they felt like “sims” characters, referring to the game “the sims”. One explained that whenever they walked into the room, they completely forgot the reason they went into said room in the first place. Another student explained that “the Bermuda Triangle is a glitch in the matrix”. More examples of these “glitches” would be Mandela effects, something that a mass of people believe happened that never did. One of these being the argument on whether the children’s show The Berenstain Bears has always been spelled that way or if it was originally the Berenstein Bears. Why would so many people believe that this happened when in fact it never actually did?
Conclusion
The idea that life as humans know it could all be an augmented reality creates a sense of fear in society’s mind. The Simulation Argument presents a deafening sense of realness to the theory of simulated life while defining the three possibilities. The three propositions being that life on earth goes extinct, future humans get bored with creating simulations, or the world that humans know, is most definitely a simulation.
Works Cited
Bostrom, Nick. “Nick Bostrom's Home Page.” Nick Bostrom's Home Page, nickbostrom.com/.
Bostrom, Nick. “ARE YOU LIVING IN A COMPUTER SIMULATION?” Are You Living in a Simulation?, www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html.
Jabril, director. ❓ Berenstein Bears & Mandela Effect Explained? YouTube, YouTube, 11 Sept. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cbf5vUKYFg.
Khatchadourian, Raffi. "The Doomsday Invention." The New Yorker, 7 Sept. 2017, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/11/23/doomsday-invention-artificial-intelligence-nick-bostrom.
"Nick Bostrom." Famous Philosophers | Biography, Books and Their Philosophy, 9 Oct. 2015, www.famousphilosophers.org/nick-bostrom/.
“Nick Bostrom - The Simulation Argument (Full).” YouTube, YouTube, 21 Feb. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnl6nY8YKHs.
"Prof Bostrom Named As One of the World's 'Top 100 Thinkers'." Oxford Martin School, 10 Dec. 2009, www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/news/prof-bostrom-fp-top-100-thinkers.
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