Chapter 267 The whole world exploded
After the press conference, Lu An accepted a mainstream media and recorded an exclusive interview of about fifteen minutes.
At this moment, in a room of the company, Lu An had a face-to-face tea conversation with the media's exclusive reporter.
The reporter also knew that Lu An’s time was precious, so he got straight to the point.
"Nick Bostrom of Oxford University published a paper in 2003 called "Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?" In the paper, he proposed the idea of the "Simulation Hypothesis."
"He said that if a civilization masters powerful enough computing power, it can completely create a simulated world containing conscious life, and also proposed a famous "trilemma" to describe three possibilities. "
Lu An is aware of this paper. The so-called "three difficult problems" refer to:
First, civilizations can often self-destruct before creating simulation technology.
Second, civilizations have the ability to create simulated worlds, but they choose not to do so.
Thirdly, if neither of the above is true, it is almost certain that we are now living in a simulated world.
Bostrom believes that the third scenario is the most likely. As long as there is a super civilization in the universe that has the ability to simulate the world, then the number of simulations is likely to far exceed the number of real worlds. The so-called "real world" in which humans live may be one of hundreds of millions of simulated worlds.
The reporter looked at Lu An and said: "How should we understand the 'reality' in our eyes? With the development of human science and technology so far, breakthroughs in computer science, quantum mechanics, and digital physics have made the boundaries between reality and illusion increasingly blurred." "Yes?"
Lu An pondered for a moment, then said with a smile: "I think there must be many people in the outside world thinking about similar issues now. We might as well assume that everything in reality is really written in code, but how to prove or falsify it?"
"This is the key to the problem. How can we verify this hypothesis with our current scientific theories?"
Hearing this, the reporter thought for a while and said: "Maybe there is. For example, if you connect the double-slit interference experiment with computer games, you will find some clues."
"Light exhibits wave characteristics when passing through two slits, forming interference fringes. However, when people try to observe which slit the light passes through, the interference fringes disappear and become the properties of particles, that is, wave-particle duality."
"This is very much like the "loading mechanism" of the game. Only the scene content within the player's field of vision is loaded. The screen in other places is blank. The system will not start rendering until you walk over."
"So does reality also follow the logic of this "on-demand program"? Only when we focus on a certain part, it will appear, and other parts are not fully loaded. This is very much like the way a simulated world operates."
It is worth mentioning that users enter the digital world through brain-computer terminals, and indeed adopt the technical logic of “on-demand programs” for everything they see from the user’s first perspective.
There are two reasons for doing this. One is to save computing power, and the other is to reduce the burden on the brain.
The human brain has a very strong ability to receive information. It is mainly an emergent mechanism, but it is not unlimited and there are still extreme values.
When massive digital signals are converted into EEG signals and interact with the brain, they cannot be received if they exceed the extreme value.
Hence this "on-demand presentation" mechanism, for example, in an open game world.
The map of this game is very large, and the information in the game is extremely rich. However, it is not necessary to load it all at once. Instead, it is dynamically distributed according to the player's field of view. Only the content within the player's field of view is redundant, leaving a buffer for subsequent loading, so that it still does not affect the player's immersive experience.
And outside the field of vision, there is actually nothing.
Only when the player moves to that location, the computing power is synchronized and the content is presented before the player's field of vision reaches it.
Similarly, when the player leaves his original position and out of his field of vision, the presented content disappears and no longer takes up computing resources.
The interviewer continued: "Another example is quantum entanglement. Even if two particles are far apart, if the state of one of them is changed, the other particle will react immediately. This phenomenon reminds me of the synchronization mechanism in the virtual digital world that you introduced before."
"Every particle and every element seems to be synchronized in real time in a huge simulation network, just like in a multiplayer online game. No matter where the players are, the system will ensure that everyone's status is always consistent."
Lu An said with a smile: "The phenomena you mentioned still do not prove that we live in an illusory simulated world. If so, who created this simulated world behind the scenes?"
Reporter: "I can't say this, but no matter who created this simulated world, the most disturbing thing is whether we can detect it? If we really realize that we are living in a virtual environment, what can we do?"
Lu An Shrugging: "Eat when you should, drink when you should."
The reporter who heard this couldn't help but smile, and then analyzed: "If it is virtual, do we really have free will? This is not only a philosophical thinking, but also an uncomfortable practical question."
He looked at Lu An and added: "If our world is a simulation, have our decisions already been set? Just like in a complex game, every action and choice of the player, although it seems free, is actually restricted by the rules and procedures of the game. Is everything we do just a predetermined part of a sophisticated program?"
" If this is the case, then our so-called free choices are actually just the results of a series of calculations in the virtual world. "
"Of course, there is a more profound question. If every decision and behavior we make is designed by an external force or program, where does our moral responsibility come from? Can we take responsibility for our own choices?"
“This is not just a thought about free will, but also involves a broader ethical dilemma.”
“Imagine that the world we live in is a huge experiment, and the creator simulates our life for a certain purpose. As a simulated life, should we care about our own behaviors, emotions and moral choices? Or should we? Are they all just part of the program?
"The more I think about this problem, the more I get scared, and I don't dare to think about it in detail..."
Lu An immediately said calmly: "The theory of the simulated world sounds interesting, but it is meaningless."
Reporter: "Why?"
Lu An: "Because the simulation hypothesis cannot be falsified, in science, any hypothesis needs to be verified or falsified. The biggest problem is that if we live in a simulated world, then all the so-called evidence we can get may only be part of the simulation. In other words, it is impossible to find ironclad evidence that can completely prove all this."
The reporter could not refute his words, and then asked curiously: "Do you think it is possible for us to live in a simulated world?"
Lu An said without hesitation: "Impossible."
Reporter: "Why is it impossible?"
Lu An: "Program codes are about determinism. The true randomness of quantum mechanics cannot be simulated by programs. Computers can only generate pseudo-random numbers. If the world is virtual, why ask for trouble?"
Lu An: "Secondly, if we really live in a simulated world, the computing power required for even an 'on-demand' simulation is incredible. There are about 2 trillion to 5 trillion galaxies in the observable universe. To simulate every atom, and even every thought and emotion, the computing power required will be infinite, and even exhausting the energy of the entire universe will not be enough."
The virtual digital world presented by brain-computer terminal equipment is an extremely grand virtual world for people's subjective feelings.
But objectively, it only simulates some extremely small-scale environments and simulates a complete real universe, which is simply impossible to achieve.
Lu An then asked: "If the universe is a simulation program, why is it simulating 13.8 billion years of history? Is it just to allow humans in the 21st century to access the Internet? The laws of physics in the real world are incredibly accurate, and programs often need to be patched. No matter how perfect the program is, there will eventually be errors and bugs." The difference is less than one part in a trillion. For hundreds of millions of years, the sun has never died, the earth has not suddenly turned into a cube, and the moon has not suddenly turned into a donut shape. "
"If the universe is a program simulation, why have humans never discovered that gravity suddenly fails, or the sky texture fails to load?"
The reporter thought about it and felt that it made sense. At least he could not refute Lu An's words.
At the end, Lu An paused and said with a smile: "Just follow the principle of Occam's razor. If it is not necessary, do not add entities. Science prefers simple and crude truths." Is it a preset program? This falls into the trap of an infinite loop of nesting dolls, which is meaningless. "
"In short, there is no need to rely on the simulation hypothesis to explain the complexity of the universe. I prefer that the universe itself is the result of natural evolution, rather than the design of an advanced civilization. The simulation hypothesis is more of a philosophical assumption."
Reporter: “Although the simulation hypothesis may never be proven, it will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the way we understand the world, life and reality. Whether we live in a simulated world or not, the emergence of brain-computer terminals will inevitably make humans re-examine a series of philosophical issues. Questions, especially about the nature of existence and the meaning of life.”
Lu An shrugged and said with a smile: “Since it is a philosophical question, let philosophers talk about it.”
This topic ended quickly, and the reporter moved on to the next topic.
Major technology forums and social media around the world are almost all topics about brain-computer terminals, and the Internet has turned from extreme suspicion to incredible shock.
At this moment, it is three or four o'clock in the morning in the Western Hemisphere.
The management of Silicon Valley technology giants such as Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, etc. were summoned for an emergency meeting late at night to discuss possible paths for technology implementation. The conference room was filled with smoke, and the content of Metaverse Intelligent Control's brain-computer terminal press conference was repeatedly played on the screen.
In terms of capital markets, Wall Street and major exchanges around the world experienced a sleepless night.
· Domestically, today is the National Day holiday, and the A-share market is not open. However, overseas markets are open normally. The Beizhou Magnesium Stock Market also has pre-market, intra-market, and after-market trading sessions.
就在元界智控的脑机终端发布会进行到一半时，与传统VR/AR、乃至人机互动相关的科技股盘后交易开始出现剧烈波动，美股几家主要的VR公司的股价如同自由落体一般直线下挫爆杀，资金恐慌踩踏式出逃。
Investors and practitioners betting on the VR track were collectively confused. They were woken up by phone calls in the middle of the night. After learning the news, they felt like the sky was falling...
This industry has just started not long ago, and there are various boasts that this is the future.
As a result, it was swept into the garbage heap of history in advance and became a sunset industry before it even grew up. This made many VC venture capital institutions that spent money on this track lose their money and cry without tears.
The tide of the times is so turbulent that it doesn’t even say hello to you, it just comes as you say.
The so-called immersive experience of VR headsets is nothing more than pseudo-immersion. The real immersive experience is undoubtedly a brain-computer terminal.
In the words of netizens, brain-computer terminals have come out, and VR headsets are not even needed.
At the same time, "pan-brain computer" concept stocks related to sensors, high-performance computing, optics, and even medical devices have surged across the board.
The stock prices of traditional touch screen and peripheral manufacturers fell sharply in response.
In addition, streaming media giant Netflix, also commonly known as "Netfly" or "Naifei" in China, has seen its stock price surge in after-hours trading. The stock prices of many other online video content websites that have been listed have also skyrocketed, and the valuations of unlisted websites such as domestic iQiyi have also risen with the tide.
The stock prices of the three major theater companies in the US stock market plummeted, and the stock prices of major film production companies also plummeted.
The emergence of brain-computer terminals may be the last straw for offline movie theaters, causing owners to panic and flee.
· Movies will not disappear, but the stock prices of listed movie giants have also plummeted.
This is not about being dragged down or wrongfully killed, but the advent of brain-computer terminals, which also had a huge impact on these film production giants.
Because independent production companies, independent producers or studios, and small and medium-sized film production companies will usher in unprecedented dividends of the times.
· Brain-computer terminals are good for independent production, and can create and produce content at lower costs and with higher efficiency. This will undoubtedly intensify competition in the industry, creating a huge number of competitors out of thin air. Quantitative changes are enough to trigger qualitative changes, and there will always be hits. This is of course bad for major studios.
Brokerage analysts rushed out reports overnight, with titles such as "The Death Knell of the Old Era, the Horn of the New Era", "A Preliminary Study on the Panorama of Investment in Conscious Internet Infrastructure" and so on.
Capital uses the most direct way to choose the future they think it will be.
The academic community and the public are also in a state of turmoil.
· Comments on the website of the authoritative academic journal of neuroscientists have become a battlefield, with conservatives denouncing it as a "well-designed hoax" and "violating the existing basic principles of neuroscience" and so on.
But more young and radical researchers excitedly dug out the contents of the press conference, trying to verify its feasibility, and called it the greatest leap in neuroscience since fMRI.
The disabled community has ushered in an unprecedented dawn.
At this moment, a family of three in a certain city in China were very excited after watching the press conference.
His wife had tears in her eyes, but she was extremely happy.
Because their child was born in Tianbengzuo, he was born blind and deaf since he was a child. He cannot hear or see. Now he is 17 years old, but he has never known what the world is like and cannot hear any sounds in this world.
"Tomorrow we will buy a brain computer and come back." The man said firmly as he tried to calm down his emotions.
“Yes!” His wife nodded without hesitation.
They watched the entire press conference and heard very clearly what Lu An said clearly and bluntly: Brain-computer terminals can allow disabled people, whether they are congenital or acquired blindness and deafness, to witness the light and listen to the world in a virtual digital way.
Emails and inquiries from organizations of patients with spinal cord injury, ALS, blindness, deafness, etc. and their families from all over the world are flooding into Metaverse Intelligent Control's official mailbox like snowflakes, and the hotline has been overwhelmed.
The emergence of brain-computer terminals has become the most dazzling star of hope in their eyes.
What they saw was that this product was not just an emerging electronic product for entertainment, but a possibility to reconnect with the world.
…
(End of this chapter)