Unfortunately, it's probably outside the reach of science, just like we can't expect artificial life in a simulation to learn what happens outside their compute

Unfortunately, it's probably outside the reach of science, just like we can't expect artificial life in a simulation to learn what happens outside their computer by conducting experiments inside the computer. So all that we're left with is philosophy, religion, and Ockham's razor to figure out what we'll believe. My advice would be to maintain an open mind and a sense of uncertainty.