An AI researcher says that we are ‘almost 100%’ living in a simulation and has revealed what our chances are of escaping.
It might sound like the stuff of a sci-fi thriller, but one expert believes that our reality is actually trapped inside simulation.
According to Roman Yampolskiy, who is an AI safety researcher, the world we’re living in is a ‘virtual box’ of someone else’s making.
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He appeared on the Lex Fridman Podcast earlier this year where the pair discussed the idea that humanity exists within a virtual reality.
Speaking to Fridman, Yampolskiy said: “How did it happen that we exist at exactly the most interesting 20/30 years in the history of this civilization? It's been around for 15 billion years and that here we are.”
When asked what the probability is that we live in a simulation, Yampolskiy replied with: “I know never to say 100% but pretty close to that.”
So, can we escape the simulation?
Yampolskiy has an answer for whether we can escape the simulation, in fact, he’s written a 30-page paper on the matter.
The short answer is yes - there is a way to hack the virtual box we’re living in so that we can break free.
In his paper, Yampolskiy states that ‘many researchers have conjectured that the humankind is simulated along with the rest of the physical universe’ before questioning ‘can we hack the simulation?’.
In the paper, he continues: “More formally the question could be phrased as: Could generally intelligent agents placed in virtual environments find a way to jailbreak out of them?”
The solution is simple and all depends on the intelligence of the simulator, says the expert.
“Greater intelligence can control lower intelligence,” Yampolskiy explains to Fridman.
But if there is an escape route, it might not be down to the creator’s intelligence.
Yampolskiy continues to explain that ‘maybe the security is not that important to them, maybe it's entertainment’.
This means that a way of escape might be possible on purpose as a way to test the system.
Viewers of the podcast were ‘mind blown’ by the theory, with many taking to the YouTube comment section to share their thoughts.
One user wrote: “Lex’s discussions come with a guarantee to blow your mind. Always fascinating.”
Another said: “If the simulation we live in is someone else's form of escapism...then imagine for a moment how bad theirs must be!”
And a third joked: “If life is a simulation... I want my money back.”