Everything is an illusion. - Do we live in a computer simulation?
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In the words of legendary science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." In last few hundred years, we humans have made great progress in science and technology . With computing innovations, the pace of progress is rather accelerating, and will leave a lasting impact on us as a species. Transhumanism is an intellectual movement to study this impact, and aims to enhance physical, psychological, and intellectual potential to leap into a posthuman era. In this talk, we will discuss a speculative idea from transhumanism, where even the magic is real.
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Everything is an illusion. - Do we live in a computer simulation?
- 1. “सब माया है|” “Everything is an illusion.” Harshal Ganpatrao Hayatnagarkar v2016.08.09 © CC BY-SA 3.0 Buddhabrot fractal (ref)
- 2. TRANSHUMANISM • “An intellectual movement that aims to transform the human condition by developing and creating widely available sophisticated technologies to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities.” – Wikipedia article (ref) Humanity+ Magazine (website)
- 3. IMAGINE A FUTURE WHERE… • Someone can become a marathon runner, or a singer, or a mathematician in, say 20 minutes. • Couples may choose for a baby to have straight hairs/curly hairs, or honey/blue eyes. • Aging process has been reversed, but costs lot of money, and hence rich people may live young for a million years. Francis Fukuyama “Most dangerous idea” (ref) Wondering? But transhumanism does not deal with ethical aspects by itself.
- 4. Any scientific idea can be turned into a benevolent or malevolent one. Science has always been prone to this risk. Always !
- 5. “Never make forecasts, especially about the future !” Samuel Goldfish “Heavier than air flying machines are not possible.” - Lord Kelvin, 1895 “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” - Thomas Watson (IBM Chairman), 1943 “640K bytes of memory ought to be enough for anybody.” - Bill Gates (Co-founder of Microsoft), 1981 “The Internet will catastrophically collapse in 1996.” - Robert Metcalfe (Co-inventor of Ethernet), 1995
- 6. This is where we challenge ourselves to do the impossible. And do the impossible, when challenged.
- 7. Galaga - 1981 Battlefield 4 - 2013 VIDEO GAMES
- 8. Unchartered 4 - 2016 Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981
- 10. IMMERSIVE ENVIRONMENTS + Emotiv Pokemon Go is just around the corner. And Emotiv too is just around another corner.
- 11. QUESTION IS …
- 12. BRAIN INTERFACES • We are bio-robots, with sensors, actuators, and processors. • We can be “told” – what has been sensed, what to actuate – by an external processor. Ref: News , Research
- 13. HUMAN CONNECTOME PROJECT • Map of human brain • First of three grand challenges of neuroscience • Goal: To create a wire-diagram of brain, perhaps to the details of every neuron • Useful to study • Neural conditions and diseases • Brain functions augmentation • Behavioral factors http://www.humanconnectomeproject.org/
- 16. “MAN IS A SOCIAL ANIMAL” – ARISTOTLE
- 17. CONVERGENCE* Super- singularity Virtual Life Artificial Life Silicon Life * Pinch of salt Internet of Everything =
- 18. Where can this lead us to?
- 20. HOW FAR ARE WE? Source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PPTCountdowntoSingularityLinear.jpg “To bring natural language understanding to Google” – Ray’s Job description at Google
- 21. Great !!! How would one distinguish virtuality from reality? Oh wait !
- 22. One phenomenon which everyone experiences everyday, with similar traits - Dreams -
- 23. AM I DREAMING? • Lucid dreams • Still a taboo in psychology • Can we be more scientific? • Perform experiments in dreams, • Measure values, • Make hypotheses, • And conclude. “Inception” Movie (2010) Source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream Lucid Dream Is it too much greedy?
- 25. To understand this better, let’s flip the sides. What is the possibility that we ourselves are living in a collective dream, a simulated reality? How can discover/debunk it?
- 26. Will the Renaissance Sim ‘Alexander Goth’ ever understand the science of Sims 4, and the science of iMac? y=f(x) e = m c2
- 27. WHAT IS OUR SCIENCE? At the heart of science is an essential balance between two seemingly contradictory attitudes – an openness to new ideas, no matter how bizarre or counterintuitive, and the most ruthlessly skeptical scrutiny of all ideas, old and new. This is how deep truths are winnowed from deep nonsense. The collective enterprise of creative thinking and skeptical thinking, working together, keeps the field on track. – Carl Sagan In book “The Demon-Haunted World : Science as a Candle in the Dark” Never stop questioning !
- 28. “ALL MODELS ARE WRONG, SOME ARE USEFUL.” Source Richard Terrile – The Universe as a Simulation G. E. P. Box
- 29. SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTIONS* Spherical Earth Heliocentrism Observational astronomy Calculus, celestial mechanics, optics Theory of evolution Genetics Theories of relativity Expanding Universe Quantum field theory Black holes Complexity theory Computing * Pinch of salt
- 30. A simulated reality is simulated by a software, and all software have bugs. We need to look for discrepancies…
- 32. A FEW BIG QUESTIONS IN SCIENCE • Quantum field theory • Double slit experiment • Quantum entanglement • Discrete time/space/energy • Cosmology: Fine-tuned Universe • Theory of everything: Combine quantum field and relativistic models • Superstring theory? • What is life ? • P = NP ? 1. Wikipedia - Lists of unsolved problems (science, physics) 2. Top 10 questions in philosophy of cosmology
- 33. DOUBLE SLIT EXPERIMENT Source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmq_FJd1oUQ
- 34. DOUBLE SLIT EXPERIMENT • Observer effect: In presence of an observer, the outcome changes • Different from Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle * • Mere sensing of the light which is already emitted • Heavier particles: Atoms instead of electrons * Pinch of salt
- 35. FINE-TUNED UNIVERSE • If a fundamental physical constant changed slightly, the Universe would seem different. • For example, if Einstein’s cosmological constant is altered a bit, the Universe won’t have stars, planets, and galaxies • Coincidence probability is very small. “Just Six Numbers” (1999) Wikipedia: Fine-tuned Universe
- 36. FINE-TUNED UNIVERSE: EXPLANATIONS • Four possible explanations by Richard Dawkins 1. “It is what it is.” 2. “Ye ain’t know nothing yet.” (Weinberg postulation) 3. “It is one of many Universes.” (Multi-verse hypothesis) 4. “It is a simulated Universe.” (Simulation reality hypothesis) • Today, falsifiability is an issue for #3 and #4. Anthropic principles are off-the-table. • Richard Dawkins debunks the Deistic God of Transhumanism and the Simulation Argument • Luke Barnes: Letters to Nature • http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/11004/1/fine-tuning-anon.pdf
- 37. But is the Universe computable? Or How do we know if it is being computed?
- 38. ANY CLUES? • Approximations and optimizations • Due to finite resources (no matter how large they could be), the simulation software developer must make a few trade-offs and optimizations. • For example, in computer games – What is not seen, does not exist – is an optimization Double Slit Experiment • Although, quantum computing is opening up a hole new arena of possibilities.
- 39. ANY CLUES? • Mechanisms that prevent subjects from “knowing the truth”? • Non-determinism? • Quantum uncertainty at the bottom • Chaotic unpredictability at the top • Immeasurable conditions • Planck limits (Planck time, length, etc.) • Planck limits also signify discreteness of space/time/energy • Limits Speed of light
- 40. Trivia In Sanskrit, root of word ‘Maya’ (माया: illusion) is ‘m’ (म), which means to measure. (Ref)
- 41. WE STILL ARE SPECIAL, ARE WE? Source http://www.dcmemorials.com/Img//0000001//00187_00100 72949.jpg Source: http://i.imgur.com/0odPJ3x.jpg
- 42. OUR SPECIALTIES? • Consciousness • Self-referentiality • Free will • Creativity Source http://faculty.guhsd.net/mejohnson/images/enlightenment4.jpg “Cogito, ergo sum.” (“I think, therefore I am.”) – Rene Descartes
- 43. CONSCIOUSNESS • An emergent phenomenon in living systems • Yet to be fully understood • Postulated that “non-living” systems too to have it • For example “The Black Cloud” sci-fi novel • No test for consciousness, for example if an algorithm is conscious
- 44. FREE WILL • Asserted over choices, and choices can be forced. • Say we want to fly, or buy a discontinued product, or vote for a candidate who is not standing. • In general, we are bonded in a network.
- 45. CREATIVITY • With machine learning techniques, algorithms write poetry, compose music, and write news and research articles. • Soon, define policies, make laws, and more. • We are entering a new era of pervasive intelligence.
- 46. SELF-REFERENTIALITY • Reflection • Identity • Introspection • “This statement is false.” ?? • Limitations of axiomatic systems Gödel's Incompleteness theorem Mirror test (ref)
- 47. IN GÖDEL WE TRUST “No formal system can be consistent and complete, at the same time.” (Incompleteness theorems) Source http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-godels-theorem/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del%27s_incompleteness_theorems “Mathematical concepts and ideas form an objective reality of their own, which we cannot create or change, but only perceive and describe.” (From NY Times article) Kurt Gödel
- 48. • Philips Dick • Jean Baudrillard • Hans Moravec • David Deutsch • Nick Bostrom • Edward Fredkin • Thomas W. Campbell • George Smoot • S. James Gates • Brian Whitworth • Neil deGrasse Tyson? • Richard Terrile • Brian Greene • Richard Dawkins • Elon Musk
- 50. Source http://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.pdf BOSTROM’S ARGUMENT • One of three possibilities • Either we humans will go extinct before reaching post- human stage, • Or even if we reach, we may not run ancestral simulations, • Or we are in a simulation. Best part of this argument is – If we are living in a simulation, then ‘we’ have already attained post-human status.
- 51. CAPACITY ARGUMENT • Computing • Moore’s law • Quantum computing • Energy • Fusion power • Dyson sphere?? Dyson Sphere (Type 2 Civilization) • Kardashev scale • Type 1 Civilization • Type 2 Civilization • Type 3 Civilization
- 52. WHY SIMULATIONS? • Simulations are useful to • Explore dynamics of a system • Conduct virtual experiments • Explore possibilities under constraints, e.g. what-if scenarios • Generate new hypotheses and theories • … • My take: Creativity engine • If we are simulated, why? Bostrom’s argument?.
- 53. Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. Arthur Conan Doyle Author of Sherlock Holmes stories
- 54. REFERENCES • http://www.simulation-argument.com • http://futurism.com/videos/elon-musk-all-likeliness-we-are-living-in-a- computer-simulation/ • http://futurism.com/videos/incredible-short-film-looks-frightening-potential- virtual-reality/ • https://science.slashdot.org/story/16/04/23/0051211/neil-degrasse-tyson-says- its-very-likely-the-universe-is-a-simulation • http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-we-living-in-a-computer- simulation/ • http://ow.ly/6Hbm300TujK • https://www.technologyreview.com/s/429561/the-measurement-that-would- reveal-the-universe-as-a-computer-simulation/ • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/blogs/physics/2015/07/are-we-living-in-a- computer-simulation/ • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biocentric_universe
- 55. REFERENCES • https://www.quora.com/Is-the-universe-computable • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-worlds_interpretation • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-slit_experiment • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/blogs/physics/2015/07/are-we-living-in-a- computer-simulation/ • http://kotaku.com/heres-what-em-uncharted-4-em-looks-like-on-the-ps4- 1667719253 • Obama campaign was simulated 60,000+ times • Quora arguments for and against Godel theorems and simulations. • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulated_reality#CantGoTu_environments • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fabric_of_Reality • https://rjlipton.wordpress.com/2009/02/26/guessing-simulations/ • https://rjlipton.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/simulation-of-nondeterministic- machines/
- 56. YOUTUBE VIDEOS • Nick Bostrom - The Simulation Argument (Full) • 2016 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate: Is the Universe a Simulation? • Theoretical Physicist S. James Gates Jr Finds Computer Code in String Theory • Richard Dawkins asks Brian Greene - Do We Live in a Simulated Universe? • Richard Dawkins debunks the Deistic God of Transhumanism and the Simulation Argument. • Richard Terrile – The Universe as a Simulation • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yanQ5H4kMEM • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSEKZp7mlUQ • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n1i7s9xsQM • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chfoo9NBEow • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4rCzA8fS84 • Elon Musk Speaks About Simulation Theory • Ray Kurzweil - Are We Living in a Simulation?
- 57. FORUM IS NOW OPEN FOR DISCUSSION… And thank you for your interest ! http://dilbert.com/strip/2016-07-19
- 58. GAME OF LIFE
- 59. TODO • Reordering • Prepare a script • Reading • Incompleteness theorems • Bostrom’s argument
Editor's Notes
- Good afternoon friends and colleagues. It’s my pleasure to stand here in front you and deliver a talk after a gap of almost, 9 years. In 2007, I initiated a series of talks on evolution, both theory and facts. The series was later concluded in 2010 for a smaller group of people here interested in systems thinking. However, my interest in the topic did not stop there. During then and now, it lingered around what is called as transhumanism. Everybody here wants to make the World a better place. Transhumanism focuses on application of technology to achieve posthuman metamorphosis, by improving physical, psychological, and intellectual capabilities. By removing heaviness of these words, it simply means, what we humans will do through the technology, to ourselves. For example, everyone could be a marathon runner, or singer or mathematician. We could say I want my baby to have curly hairs. You may be wondering but the discipline itself does not directly deal with ethical aspects, and perhaps because of this reason, Prof Francis Fukuyama calls transhumanism as the one of the most dangerous ideas. For example, if we discover reversal of aging process that requires a lot of money. Will it mean that rich people live young for a million years? What will be the impact on our society? In another example, some argue that we will attain a probable state called as ‘singularity’, where we will be indistinguishable from machines, and vice versa. We humans as species can hope to survive in this accelerating evolution, also called as ‘Great Filter’. My talk today focuses on an idea from transhumanism, which seems impossible, just like many were impossible once. Welcome !
- In fact, many ideas were called impossible or impractical even by pioneers in fields.
- How many of you have played games in childhood? How many of you play games even today? What’s the difference?
- Sims is a make-believe or role playing simulation game, in which one tries to be happy instead of trigger happy. You live, share the spaces and interact with others, and have lots of fun. The individuals are called characters as ‘The Sims’.
- However, something is missing. Sims is not yet an immersive experience.
- You may say “Hello, it’s just a movie. That’s not even a jump, that’s leap of faith”. Agree. Let’s take stairs to go there.
- Researchers are exploring brain interfaces. The basic idea is that brain is an information processing unit.
- It creates many possibilities, but need to know the brain little more. HCP intends to uncover deeper aspects of the human brain. A kind of key to the secrete vault. Once opened, the vault should guide us in developing protocols for further integration. Kind of in a browser one can write https://localbrain.
- What are the implications? It means through some interface, senses, demographics, emotions and preferences can be augmented into one’s mind. At this time, it should be possible to upload and download a mind along with consciousness.
- At this time, it should be possible to upload and download a mind along with consciousness. And it does not stop here…
- Virtual as in virtual reality, all the way up to uploading consciousness in the cloud (and whatever it means). Artificial life is in the sense of AI, or in general soft artificial organisms, that can evolve by themselves. But again, soft. Silicon as in, we are carbon-based. So new silicon chips, or quantum computing, or anything that aides in hardware smarter, as in robotics. Bruce Schneier argues IoT will be the World biggest robot. Now, this will a super-robot. Let me call it by a more familiar name.
- That’s a good question. And we don’t know how to answer it yet, scientifically. Is there any condition, that is as close to the virtuality as possible? Well, there is one and everyone experiences it daily. Dreams. Yes dreams. We all dream, and sometimes love to dream. This is one of the reasons, I scheduled this talk a little after the lunch time.
- That’s a good question. And we don’t know how to answer it yet, scientifically. Is there any condition, that is as close to the virtuality as possible? Well, there is one and everyone experiences it daily. Dreams. Yes dreams. We all dream, and sometimes love to dream. This is one of the reasons, I scheduled this talk a little after the lunch time.
- That’s a good question. And we don’t know how to answer it yet, scientifically. Is there any condition, that is as close to the virtuality as possible? Well, there is one and everyone experiences it daily. Dreams. Yes dreams. We all dream, and sometimes love to dream. This is one of the reasons, I scheduled this talk a little after the lunch time.
- Just a coincidence, in dreams the time runs at different pace, than in reality.
- Please meet Alexander Goth, a sim in Sims 4 game.
- Look at us.
- This is one of all time favourtite quotes.
- What we now have taken for granted, some of these revolutions even defied common sense, or everyday observations. For example, flat earth, or steady state universe, or absolute nature of space and time.
- This is one of all time favourtite quotes.
- Sometimes, we need to take a second opinion, from other disciplines to cross verify ideas.
- For example, here are some of the Nobel prizes in waiting, I mean big ticket problems. The longer list is cited here, but the short-listed ones are relevant for us. There is no clear explanation for these phenomena or facts.
- Are you kidding me?
- I am skipping ‘Deja Vu’ argument, proposed by Philips Dick and shown in the Matrix movie, because I believe that it is not a sound-enough argument.
- I am skipping ‘Deja Vu’ argument, proposed by Philips Dick and shown in the Matrix movie, because I believe that it is not a sound-enough argument.
- It’s a powerful concept.