posted on Apr, 27 2013 @ 02:49 PM
The mind: a computer simulation.
What do we make of the computers of today? How are they used? What do we make of our minds, and how do we use them?
When we look at the graphic capabilities of computers today, we see a growing, ever expanding thing of beauty. Each year the polygon count rises, the
textures increase, and our computer generated environments and characters look more real.
How long will it be until we are able to play a computer game that has graphics that resemble the world that we see? What 'resolution' is life?
Sure, we have developed computers that have reached the level where they can perfectly recreate the look of the every day world, and we are only a
short amount of time away from enjoying those graphics on our home computers and gaming consoles.
But when will we be able to experience a true simulation? When will we be able to fully immerse ourselves in a computer game and believe that it is
real?
With the old model of virtual reality, we simply put on a headset that contains a screen or a pair of screens, and we see a graphic representation of
some sort of reality in front of our eyes. We can put on a set of headphones and make this experience even more immersive.
But this isn't believable at all.
The user would know that they are simply using peripheral devices to make up a single simulated experience. There is no true 'feeling' of
reality.
So how do we achieve this?
Even if we were to project a three dimensional hologram onto the surrounding walls of a purpose built room, complete with surround sound, a type of
omnidirectional treadmill beneath our feet and an air conditioning system made to pump artificial smells into the air, the experience is still one
crucial step away from being real: the user has to believe it is real in every way.
The use of psychoactive drugs has been implemented in the past to achieve all sorts of things in many medical fields. They have been used in
hypnotherapy to aid the patient in having a deeper session within their mind.
Many uses have been found for these drugs via vast medical experimentation.
Drugs such as '___' were frequently used by the US government in the middle of the 20th century. They understood its ability to alter the state of
consciousness.
During the mid 20th century and beyond, drugs like '___', MDMA, ayahuasca and toxic mushrooms have been used recreationally to achieve different
results. But they all have one similar property: they alter the perceptive powers of the mind.
So could we say then that the future of computer simulations, in particular the future of computer gaming, could be reliant on drugs or medicine if it
is to be a truly immersive experience? Is it socially abhorrent to rely on chemicals to have a 'good time'?
Drugs are prescribed to millions of people every day, all over the world. They are used and abused, so there is no truth in saying that the
establishment is in control of even the legal side of drugs.
Could a mixture of advanced technology and intricately designed drugs be the next big thing in the realm of computer entertainment?
Let us look at this.
Would a parent want their twelve year old child playing a computer system with the aid of a specific drug? Even if the drug were safe, what parent or
guardian would even consider this, unless they were I'll equipped to be parents?
If such a computer/drug experience were to exist, why would a person want to ever stop playing? Surely a created world, perfect in its design, would
be far more enticing than the cruel and difficult world we live in.
How long would this drug last? Would there be a safe daily dose? How would it be controlled? Could you overdose on it if you played for too long?
Could you develop a psychosis from being in the computer world far more than the real world?
If the computer simulation was to be as real as this world, would it one day become self governed, with its own laws and social structure? Could
humans become recognized citizens of this world? Would crime be punishable? Surely, if you stabbed somebody in the computer world, you've only
stabbed a computer generated character.
But if that character was a computer user who was using this psychoactive drug, wouldn't that mean that the trauma felt would affect them as if it
were real? Would they feel the pain of the knife going into their flesh? Would they panic? Would the panicked state have an effect on their 'real'
body on the outside world? Would their heart rate rise? Could they potentially have a heart attack?
If you believe something to be real, even if it isn't, then it is real for you.
No questions asked.
So what safeguards would be in place? How would one stop the potential of a heart attack?
Would there have to be some sort of firewall between the mind and the body? How precise should the drug be when targeting only the places needed to
make the computer simulation real? Surely not all of the brain would be needed to make the experience believable.
How would the drug and computer work together to make this simulation real?
Would the user simply sit in front of a screen, inject the drug and play? This would meat hat the body is still able to move, that the user still has
to concentrate on hand controls, for instance.
Perhaps, it would be better to come up with a way to 'implant' the computer experience directly into the brain, via electrodes, a signal, or
something along those lines.
The user could simply lay down, hook themselves to the machine and begin to play.
So if we could directly import the experience to the brain, would we even need drugs to make the experience real?
Moving on, lets assume that the world that we live in right now is a computer simulation. Is it an interactive simulation? Are we able to become a
character of our choosing?
Or are we pure simulates? Are we lacking even the human mind on the 'outside' that controls us? Are we 100% computer code in nature, with a highly
advanced artificial intelligence that gives us a sense of self, a consciousness?
What are the implications of this?
Going back to the moral question of hurting or killing each others computer avatar, if we truly are nothing more than sentient computer code, should
we have to worry about things like empathy, or even the law?
If a person were to go on trial for murder, could he or she use the defense that the entire world is a computer simulation? If the world wasn't a
computer simulation, then surely they would be laughed out of the courtroom and convicted.
What if the world was a simulation? It would stand to reason that the simulate judge would still convict the defendant. Why? Because the judge would
have the artificial intelligence built into his programming, too. He or she would not know that they were a simulated entity.
This is all based on the premise that we are all 100% simulated. But we can be sure that even if we were true humans 'playing' or 'taking part' in
a simulation, the ignorance of their true nature would be present inside of the simulation.
I'm particularly interested in the 'resolution' of life.
Any input would be helpful to me.
Thank you.