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So what would it mean if there are gods of simulation? Most religions and gods purely exist as a way to implement law and order: define what is good and bad, an

by ako 7y ago

So what would it mean if there are gods of simulation? Most religions and gods purely exist as a way to implement law and order: define what is good and bad, and to manipulate people to behave accordingly (otherwise you will be punished in hell). Would simulation gods really be interested in us following good and bad rules, or more interested to see what happens if people do as they want? If this is a simulation, my assumption is that it is to test if any highly intelligent and successful species is destined to destroy itself...

hansjorg 7y ago
What if it's just a really detailed astrophysics simulation and any life is just coincidental and without interest to the ones running the simulation.
- mikestew 7y ago
  “What’s that?” “What?” “Over there, third planet out.” “Oh, those. Yeah, some kind of bug. It usually fixes itself, often in quite the fireworks at the end! Anyway, supposed to be fixed next version.”
Yetanfou 7y ago
Simulation gods would most likely be gods of chaos as that is what simulations are generally used for: to test the behaviour of a system in diverse and often adverse conditions.
jongomez 7y ago
"So what would it mean if there are gods of simulation?" Well, I for one would be curious to find out more about these gods.
- justinclift 7y ago
  Also, sandbox escapes. :)
  - cryptonector 7y ago
    Probably involves a red pill.
Igelau 7y ago
It's a component in an AGI that wants to see how many paperclips it can get from a particular strategy.
lordnacho 7y ago
It means they would be able to pause the sim and intervene in ways that are not consistent with having "laws of physics".
- orisho 7y ago
  Well why wouldn't they be consistent? Just as you would add another column to an existing database table and run a data migration so that the new column makes sense in the context of the old and no one is the wiser, so can our simulators adjust the simulation as well as our understanding of the laws of physics in a manner that we could not discern. That is, if they are indeed able to pause and change anything.
  - lordnacho 7y ago
    Yes but there's nobody enforcing the consistency. If the experimenter wanted to teleport some people, they could just do that. You're assuming they care that the humans don't see any inconsistencies.
mikestew 7y ago
highly intelligent Why would you assume that humans be considered highly intelligent? The experiment might not be as flattering as you’d like to think.
- ASalazarMX 7y ago
  I'd wager we're highly intelligent matter compared to the average matter known so far.

by ako 7y ago

hansjorg 7y ago

What if it's just a really detailed astrophysics simulation and any life is just coincidental and without interest to the ones running the simulation.

mikestew 7y ago
“What’s that?” “What?” “Over there, third planet out.” “Oh, those. Yeah, some kind of bug. It usually fixes itself, often in quite the fireworks at the end! Anyway, supposed to be fixed next version.”

Yetanfou 7y ago

Simulation gods would most likely be gods of chaos as that is what simulations are generally used for: to test the behaviour of a system in diverse and often adverse conditions.

jongomez 7y ago

"So what would it mean if there are gods of simulation?" Well, I for one would be curious to find out more about these gods.

justinclift 7y ago
Also, sandbox escapes. :)
- cryptonector 7y ago
  Probably involves a red pill.

Igelau 7y ago

It's a component in an AGI that wants to see how many paperclips it can get from a particular strategy.

lordnacho 7y ago

It means they would be able to pause the sim and intervene in ways that are not consistent with having "laws of physics".

orisho 7y ago
Well why wouldn't they be consistent? Just as you would add another column to an existing database table and run a data migration so that the new column makes sense in the context of the old and no one is the wiser, so can our simulators adjust the simulation as well as our understanding of the laws of physics in a manner that we could not discern. That is, if they are indeed able to pause and change anything.
- lordnacho 7y ago
  Yes but there's nobody enforcing the consistency. If the experimenter wanted to teleport some people, they could just do that. You're assuming they care that the humans don't see any inconsistencies.

mikestew 7y ago

highly intelligent Why would you assume that humans be considered highly intelligent? The experiment might not be as flattering as you’d like to think.

ASalazarMX 7y ago
I'd wager we're highly intelligent matter compared to the average matter known so far.