Sorry the following thought experiment is so long, but trust me, it’s totally worth it.
And don’t worry, it’s not that stupid one about the future evil AI.
Obviously, the rest of this section of today’s blog entry will assume you watched it.
Wow, right? That was one heck of a ride. I absolutely adored the whole thing. Had me nailed to my seat for the whole duration.
Plus his voice reminds me of the voice of Jonathan Goldstein from Wiretap on CBC radio, which is a huge plus.
But man, not only is that my idea of good philosophy, it’s my idea of science fiction too.
Then again, those are kind of the same thing to me.
Anyhow, on with the analysis!
First off, no, this experiment did not “change my life” like the hyperbolic title suggests.
Bitch please. It’s good but it’s not that good. I found it to be a thrilling ride through some very dangerous philosophical territory, but that’s basically the neighborhood I grew up in and spend most of my time in, so forgive me if my life doesn’t change.
Strutting aside, though, I will start by answering the question implied at the end : would I exit the simulation, or stay in the world where literally my greatest dream just came true : I just gave a TED talk that convinced everyone I am a goddamned genius.
I can think of nothing that would make me happier. Seriously.
But I would exit the simulation anyway. Like I said in the YouTube comments, it would not feel like a choice. My entire mind is a truth seeking machine and I have spent my whole life climbing the tree of knowledge in search of greater truth and superior understanding of the world and how it works.
That means that if there is a higher level of reality, I have to go there. The alternative is unthinkable. Remaining in what I know to be an illusion would drive me freaking insane.
Like…. killing spree level insane. After all, I now know everyone else in my world is a fucking AI, so why not?
It reminds me of scenes in science fiction where someone is asked if they want to go with the aliens in their spaceship back to their home planet.
Um, yes. The answer is yes. If there are any aliens reading this, YES.
Because if I missed that incredible opportunity, I would kill myself.
I realize that exiting the simulation goes against my usual attitude of laid back pragmatic hedonism. I am usually the guy with the sardonically realistic answers to big questions of cosmology and epistemology.
I am not the type to obsess over the ultimate nature of reality or wonder what is “really real” or whether or not this could all be a simulation or whatever.
We have what appears to be objective reality. It functions exactly like objective reality would. So I readily accept it as such until such time as it is shown to my satisfaction to be anything else.
But when presented with it in the form of the thought experiment linked above, all my usual caution and pragmatism go right out the window.
I don’t care that I don’t know where exiting the simulation will lead or whether or not I will be happier there.
I got to go.
More on this subject after the break.
About “The Machine” – No, Really This Time
Now about the machine referenced in the video… let’s call it the Perfect Reality Simulator, or PRS for short.
This theoretical device was a big hook for me personally. I mean, we went from my TED Talk fantasy directly into brain science! Holy crap!
Am I sure I didn’t write this? (joking, people)
This idea of not merely VR but a VR programmed to simulate all the things needed to maximize the individual’s happiness and well-being is a bold and fascinating one.
I am very curious about the exact details of its development, though, because I can only imagine that the seemingly simple dictum of “whatever makes you happy” would turn out to be fiendishly tricky to execute.
Because the thing is, we don’t know nearly enough about what makes people happy to pull this off. Maybe we will by the far flung year of 2147, but I doubt it.
Instead, I envision a rather brutal design cycle where they keep thinking they have everything covered but test subject after test subject is nearly driven insane because there is some subtle need going unmet and it throws off the entire balance of their psyche in a very drastic way.
This kind of psychic risk-taking is not everyone’s cup of tea and before too long they have lost all their volunteer test subjects because nobody wants to lose their mind, science be damned.
So they, the two people from the story and a handful of fellow scientists, are forced to test everything on themselves. But they are more determined than ever to make their neurogenetic paradise a reality.
Finally, after a particularly brutal final series of adjustments, the head of the project declares them to have finally succeeded. All the measurements agree that their simulation now contains absolutely everything necessary for human happiness.
So they jack in. And turn it on, And look around.
And discover that it is exactly like the real world. Down to the tiniest grain of sand.
Turns out, we already had everything we need for happiness.
We just didn’t know it.
Now I know that ending would piss a lot of people off. And I am fine with that, because while normally a total sweetheart, I can also be kind of a prick.
My point is that I think we have a lot of deep seated needs that the usual “electric bliss” scenarios of science fiction don’t take into account.
I mean, just look at this thing.
Do you really think a bunch of programmers and engineers can handle all of THAT?
And heck, first you have to make people forget they are in a simulation, and fucking with memory is a whole other can of worms.
Far easier to set up traditional VR and let people figure out the rest themselves.
Might still end up with areas of VR that are, in fact, a lot like actual reality.
But with eye lasers.
I will talk to you nice people again tomorrow.