If We're Living in a Simulation, The Gods Might Be Crazy
[A comment on David Iverson's new short story, "This, But Again", in Slate's Future Tense]
That we’re living in a computer simulation—it sounds like a paranoid fantasy. But it’s a possibility that futurists, philosophers, and scientific cosmologists treat increasingly seriously. Oxford philosopher and noted futurist Nick Bostrom estimates there’s about a 1 in 3 chance that we’re living in a computer simulation. Prominent New York University philosopher David J. Chalmers, in his recent book, estimates at least a 25 percent chance. Billionaire Elon Musk says it’s a near-certainty. And it’s the premise of this month’s Future Tense Fiction story by David Iserson, “This, but Again.”
Let’s consider the unnerving cosmological and theological implications of this idea. If it’s true that we’re living in a computer simulation, the world might be weirder, smaller, and more unstable than we ordinarily suppose.
Full story here.
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Related:
"Skepticism, Godzilla, and the Artificial Computerized Many-Branching You" (Nov. 15, 2013).
"Our Possible Imminent Divinity" (Jan. 2, 2014).
"1% Skepticism" (Nous (2017) 51, 271-290).
Related "Is Life a Simulation? If So, Be Very Afraid" (Los Angeles Times, Apr. 22, 2022).