Musk: Humans are most likely living in a matrix game simulated by a higher civilization

Source: Science Alert, Big Think, Yingwei Network

Edited by: Mitsushi, Muqing, Craig

In September 2018, Musk, in the "The Joe Rogan Experience" program hosted by comedian Joe Rogan, in addition to smoking and drinking and playing the big sword, also made a surprising statement: humans are very likely to live in a matrix game simulated by a higher civilization.

In that two-and-a-half-hour podcast, Musk laid out his views more comprehensively, firmly believing that "why do we live in simulations", and arguing that human civilization is likely to be part of many simulated civilizations like games.

Humans may live in a huge and advanced computer game

Musk's "Matrix-style simulation" theory is based on the fact that the universe has existed for 13.8 billion years.

Since this universe is nearly 14 billion years old, and the history of human beings appearing on Earth is less than 10,000 years, this period is enough time for other civilizations to rise. He believes that older civilizations are likely to be our creators and likens real life to the progress of games over the past few decades.

"Statistically, there's a good chance that a civilization existed over such a long period of time, and they found a very credible way to simulate it." Once this happens, it's only a matter of time before they build their own virtual multiple spaces. ”

In fact, this hypothesis has been mentioned by many people, and many people think that this is true, that civilizations that can create such simulation experiments definitely exist, that they like to create "toys", and even that it is possible to create the universe, which is that low-dimensional humans cannot understand high-dimensional creatures, how they are created, we can't imagine, because the human mind is always maintained on a certain basis, it is difficult for us to break through.

Musk also said that the arguments for the simulation are very sufficient, and also remind us not to try to speed up the evolution of civilization, otherwise it will blur the boundaries and bring civilization to an end.

"One of those two things is going to happen. Because we exist, we are probably in the simulation. ”

If that's the case, he says, then the "basic reality" used to simulate our real lives can be very boring.

This isn't the first time Musk has shared the idea, as he said back in 2016 at the Recode's Annual Code Conference:

"Given that we are clearly on track with games that are indistinguishable from reality, and that these games can be played on any set-top box or PC and anything else, and there may be billions of such computers or devices, then our probability in the underlying reality is only one in billions."

"40 years ago, we had Pong, which was two rectangles and a dot. That's where the game begins. 40 years later, we have 3D simulations, and online games for millions of people. While technology is still evolving, we will soon have VR and AR worlds. ”

While it's conceivable that all of us could actually live in a huge and advanced computer game, physicists are really attracted to the idea, and in theory, it's at least a possibility.

In fact, in addition to Musk, many leaders in the technology industry are obsessed with simulation theory and invest hundreds of millions of dollars in research. Silicon Valley, where companies such as Apple, Google and Facebook are gathered, are at the forefront of research in this area.

In 2016, Sam Altman, president of incubator Y Combinator, said in The New Yorker that the entire silicon valley, including himself, was obsessed with the concept of computer simulation. "A lot of people in Silicon Valley are obsessed with this analog assumption, they think the reality we're experiencing is computer-generated," he said. Two tech billionaires are already secretly recruiting scientists in hopes of freeing us from simulation. ”

In the interview, Musk also reiterated his serious concern about artificial intelligence, a topic he has spoken about publicly many times. But for the risks posed by artificial intelligence, he feels that people's attitudes are still not enough to pay attention.

One manifestation of the lack of attention, he said, is the neglect of the convergence of humans and technology, which is already taking place at an alarming rate.

"You're already a cyborg." "The iPhone is actually an extension of yourself, but now the communication and data rates between you and the extensions you control, such as phones and computers, are slow," he says. ”

Musk's latest five major concerns: The network is a projection of IDs

In this podcast, Rogan and Musk talk for two and a half hours, focusing on five main areas:

1. The main danger of artificial intelligence is that humans turn AI into weapons

Musk has long warned of the dangers posed by artificial intelligence. In March 2018, he said in South by Southwest that AI was far more dangerous than nuclear weapons and that governments should take action to regulate the development of AI.

Musk said the main danger is not an attack on humans by artificial intelligence. "The tricky problem here is that it's very tempting to use AI as a weapon. The danger is that humans use it against each other. ”

In another part of the podcast, Musk also adds, "I tried to convince people to slow down and slow down the AI, but it was in vain." I worked hard for many years and no one listened. ”

Logan also said, "It looks like a scene in the movie where the robot will take over everything with his X, and you freak me out." ”

"But nobody listened," Musk said.

2. Significant advances in neural connectivity technology could soon be announced

If you can't beat AI, join it.

That's Musk's basic argument.

He believes that the best scenario for the future of artificial intelligence is to find ways to integrate humans and machines. In some ways, we've done it now: smartphones can be seen as an extension of humanity's own.

But there are bandwidth issues with this stretch of relationship with AI.

"You can't communicate with your fingers because it's too slow." Musk said.

Our goal is to dramatically improve the communication channels between our biological and digital selves, which can be achieved through neural-link technology, which can help control the long-term evolution of humans and artificial intelligence.

"From a long-term perspective, it's like the purpose of neural connections, which is to create a high-bandwidth brain interface so we can coexist with AI."

Musk has already founded Neuralink, and as for the latest developments in the company, he revealed: "In a few months we will have some interesting things to announce, at least an order of magnitude better than anything else, probably better than anyone thinks." ”

He painted a long-term vision for the technique: to add artificial cognition to the brain to the third layer, "A.I. extension of yourself"—a symbiotic relationship between the cerebral cortex and the limbic system of the brain.

3. Society is playing a "crazy game" with the earth

Musk said that in the transition to more sustainable energy sources, the early realization of electric vehicles should be a top priority.

"We're really playing a crazy game about the atmosphere and the ocean. We collect a lot of carbon from deep underground and then release that carbon into the atmosphere, which is crazy. We shouldn't do that, it's very dangerous. We should accelerate the transition to sustainable energy. Obviously, in the long run, we will run out of oil. There's only so much oil we extract and burn. We must have a sustainable energy transport and energy infrastructure.

We extract trillions of tons of carbon from the ground and emit it into the atmosphere and oceans. It's a crazy experiment. This is the stupidest experiment in human history. Why are we doing this? This is crazy. ”

4. The network landscape is a projection of the ID

Musk says the most successful online platforms are those that resonate with our limbic systems — parts of the brain that are primarily responsible for emotions, stimuli, and memory, and that these systems, such as social media, account for a growing share of the intelligence of society as a whole.

"Imagine all these things, including that raw dynamic, all the things that we like, hate, all fear, all on the internet, and they're projections of our limbic system."

5. Once AI becomes dangerous, it's too late to regulate it

Musk said it takes years of rule-making and enforcement before the government can actually start regulating an industry. Take, for example, the seat belt regulations in the automotive industry, which took 10 years to actually implement.

"This time frame has nothing to do with AI, and from a moment of danger, you can't (regulate it) for 10 years." Too late. ”

However, when the artificial intelligence reaches the so-called singularity, no one can say for sure.

"It's hard to predict, like a black hole, what will happen outside the line of sight. It can be scary, it can be great. It's unclear. One thing is for sure: we can't control it. ”

Musk also acknowledges that he still wants to make the best contribution to humanity. "I'd rather be wrong but optimistic than believe in the right but pessimistic ideas."

Finally, let's talk about smoking, drinking and playing with the big sword.

During the interview, Musk took a sip of marijuana after drinking whiskey, but he said he didn't like doing it often because it would make him proud of being less efficient.

"It's like pouring a cup of coffee," Musk said, "and I like to get things done and I like things that work." ”

Reference Links:

https://www.sciencealert.com/elon-musk-says-we-re-probably-living-in-a-simulation-and-warns-agains-our-insane-experiment-with-coal

https://m.sohu.com/a/253409729_478895/?pvid=000115_3w_a