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Elon Musk Says We’re Probably All Living In A Computer Simulation Indistinguishable From Reality

By Coburn Palmer
Published on: 07:07 PST, Jun 2, 2016

Elon Musk, the real-life Tony Stark billionaire who founded Tesla and SpaceX, said we’re all probably living in a giant computer simulation during Recode’s annual Code Conference in California, Thursday morning.

Musk took to the conference stage saying that since it’s possible to imagine an advanced video game created by a futuristic society that’s indistinguishable from reality, it’s probable we’re actually living in one, reports Recode.

“Forty years ago we had pong. Like two rectangles and a dot. That was what games were.

“Now, forty years later, we have photorealistic, 3D simulations with millions of people playing simultaneously and it’s getting better every year. Soon we’ll have virtual reality, augmented reality.

“If you assume any rate of improvement at all, then the games will become indistinguishable from reality. Let’s imagine it’s 10,000 years in the future, which is nothing on the evolutionary scale.

“We’re clearly on a trajectory to have games that are indistinguishable from reality. It would seem to follow that the odds that we’re in base reality is one in billions.”

Musk argued that the great technological leaps of the 21st century have allowed us to envision a society of post-humans far in the future that could create fantastic computer simulations indistinguishable from reality.

These simulations could be used for everything from studying our ancestor’s work and social habits to amazing tabletop video game systems. The computer simulations would create artificially intelligent people who would be conscious, capable of free thought, and able to make their own decisions.

Since we can imagine this to be true, it’s more than likely to be true, at least according to the theory.

Elon Musk’s philosophical argument mirrors Oxford thinker Nick Bostrom’s thought experiment described in the aptly named paper “Are You in a Computer Simulation?”

The theory is hotly debated on the simulation argument website, and people have spent hours arguing the merits of the philosophy, which is similar to the “brain in a vat” theory the movie the Matrix is based on.

Elon Musk clearly has a fear of artificial intelligence, and he hasn’t been shy about sharing it with the world.

While Stephen Hawking thinks the dangerous effects of climate change is the biggest threat facing the planet Earth, Musk has argued that computerized artificial intelligence could mean the end of mankind as we know it.

He’s encouraged the progression of technology, saying that if we don’t evolve quickly, we will all wind up being house pets for artificially intelligent robots who will take over the world, which would be unfortunate, to say the least.

The best way to defeat the AI is to develop a neural lace that would enable the human body to mix with technology. Adding computer power to our bodies would allow us to process information much quicker than we do now and would also allow us to control machines at a distance, thereby enabling us to defeat the robots when they rise up to take over the world, reports Mashable.

“Not all AI futures are benign.”

During the annual Recode conference, Musk argued that mankind must keep advancing technologically and that failure to do so would mean the end of humanity as we know it. To that end, he plans to launch a Mars mission in the next nine years.

The billionaire outlined SpaceX’s recent technological breakthroughs and said he’s planning to unveil the plan for a Mars colony in September, according to CNN.

“If things go according to plan, we should be able launch people in 2024, with arrival in 2025.”

Do you agree with Elon Musk? Are we actually living inside a computer simulation?

[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images and Skynavin/Shutterstock]

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