What are the chances that we are living in a simulation? “Almost 100%.” As an AI security researcher like Roman Yampolskiy he utters these words with such certainty, the shiver is inevitable. It is not the delirium of a visionary, but the considered conclusion of a scientist. According to him, the question is no longer "if" but "why" and, above all, "can we escape?". Yampolskiy he dedicated a 30-page paper to this possibility, theorizing ways to “hack” our virtual box. While Professor Melvin Vopson ofUniversity of Portsmouth even finds in the Bible (well, well) the definitive proof: that “In the beginning was the Word” would be a reference to the code that created us. The cocktail is served: quantum physics, artificial intelligence and theology, all mixed in the most disturbing question ever.
The Chances That We're Living in a Simulation
We have landed right in the 20-30 most interesting years in the history of civilization: what a strange coincidence, isn't it? The universe has existed for about 15 billion years, yet here we are, at the very moment of the development of artificial intelligence, when humanity is confronting the most profound questions about consciousness and reality.
Doesn't that seem a little too convenient to you? That's exactly what he points out. Yampolskiy. When asked how likely it is that we are living in a simulation, he responds with a confidence that makes one falter: “I know I should never say 100%, but we are very close to that number.” That’s no small claim, especially from an AI safety researcher; people who are notoriously cautious in their statements.
The fact that we are exactly at the moment in history when the possibility of creating ever more perfect simulations is being discussed is, for these researchers, another clue that we ourselves could be part of a simulation. A sort of “cosmic self-reflexivity” which, frankly, gives me a bit of a headache.
How to Escape the Virtual Matrix
Well, if we live in a simulation, can we escape? According to Yampolskiy, who did not limit himself to speculating, the answer is yes. The possibility exists, at least in theory.
More formally, the question might be formulated as follows: could generally intelligent agents, placed in virtual environments, find a way to escape from them?
If you haven't gone crazy yet, follow me. Yampolskiy explains that it all depends on the intelligence of the “simulator.” “A higher intelligence can control a lower intelligence,” he says with what I imagine to be a deadly serious face. But then he adds an observation that I find particularly intriguing: “Maybe safety is not that important to those who run the simulation; maybe it’s just entertainment.”
Okay. The idea that our reality might be some sort of cosmic reality show or a particularly elaborate board game for some higher entity is, I have to admit, rather humiliating. Yet, if that were the case, there might be a deliberate emergency exit, a back door left there to test the system. It occurs to me that if we are in a simulation created for entertainment, whoever is watching me now is probably bored to death. Sorry, higher being, but I have bills to pay.
If we live in a simulation, the Bible is the user manual
Let's move on now Melvin Vopson, associate professor of physics atUniversity of Portsmouth, which takes the discussion to a completely different level. About him we dealt with it in this article, and he didn't seem to have developed this sort of theological drift. According to him, the proof that we live in a simulation could even be found in the Bible.
The Bible itself tells us that we are in a simulation and it also tells us who is doing it. It is done by an AI, an artificial intelligence.
Vopson focuses on the Gospel of John, which begins with the famous phrase, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In his interpretation, “the Word” actually refers to a computer code that controls the simulation.
Now, I know what you're thinking: Interpretations of the Bible are as myriad as its readers, and this one seems particularly… creative. Yet Vopson insists: “The code that runs the simulation is not separate from the divine, but rather an integral part of it, perhaps an AI.” It’s an interpretation that would make many theologians frown (to put it mildly), but Vopson doesn’t stop at theology. He looks for evidence even in the physical world, such as limits on the speed of light and sound, which he says could be computer-programmed restrictions.
Is the Matrix already among us?
Reactions to these theories are as varied as they are predictable. Personally, I find these theories fascinating. but also tremendously problematic. If we live in a simulation, what is the value of our experiences, our emotions, our lives? And if we could really “escape,” what would we find? Another simulation? The “real” reality? And how would we distinguish between them?
One commenter wrote: “If life is a simulation… I want my money back.” I can only agree. But who should we ask for reimbursement? The cosmic code? The higher intelligence? The “Word” turned into software? Perhaps the most disturbing question is another: If we live in a simulation created for someone's entertainment, as Yampolskiy suggests, think how terrible their reality must be, if ours (with all its wars, diseases and reality show) is their form of escape.
I almost hope they have good psychological support, up there or out there, wherever they are.
