A new essay explores which conditions must be met for consciousness to exist. At least one of them can't be found in a computer. Would it be desirable for artificial intelligence to develop ...

Unless you, dear reader, are a web-scraping software bot quietly pulling this text into a data-hungry LLM, you’re probably a human. And though you’ve likely never seen me in person, you have good ...

Simulation theory proposes that our reality is a sophisticated computer simulation, raising profound questions about the nature of consciousness and existence. Simulation theory is a fascinating ...

If such a simulation were possible, the simulated universe could itself give rise to life, which in turn might create its own simulation. This recursive possibility makes it seem highly unlikely that ...

Melvin M. Vopson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...

Elon Musk and others find it plausible that our experiences result from events in a computer simulation, just like the characters in the Matrix movies. An alternative view, supported by both common ...

If you feel like you're living in a convincing virtual reality akin to The Matrix, a scientist thinks you may well be right. Melvin Vopson, an associate professor in physics at the University of ...

Russell has a PhD in the history of medicine, violence, and colonialism. His research has explored topics including ethics, science governance, and medical involvement in violent contexts. Russell has ...

We have long taken it for granted that gravity is one of the basic forces of nature–one of the invisible threads that keeps the universe stitched together. But suppose that this is not true. Suppose ...