Full Programme Released!

Lost in The Matrix

Sat 18 September
1:15pm - 2:15pm BST
Venue: Arena
Event [19]

Debates

Lost in The Matrix

Sabine Hossenfelder, Massimo Pigliucci, Anders Sandberg, Anil Seth. Güneş Taylor hosts.

Until recently the possibility that we are living in a computer simulation was largely limited to fans of The Matrix with an over active imagination or sci-fi fantasists. But now some scientists and philosophers are claiming that strange quirks of the universe, like the indeterminateness of quantum theory and the black hole information paradox are evidence that our reality is in actuality a created simulation. Even tech guru Elon Musk has come out supporting the theory, arguing that "we are most likely in a simulation".

Should we take the idea that we are living in a computer simulation seriously? Or, in the same way that UFO sightings coincide with TV and movie releases, is it a sign that we can all be victim to Hollywood fantasy? Then again, is the puzzle simply a new version of the philosophical question made famous by Descartes, how we can know that reality is not a dream? And if so why is it so persistent?

 

Ground-breaking consciousness researcher Anil Seth, stoic philosopher Massimo Pigliucci, maverick physicist and YouTube sensation Sabine Hossenfelder and Oxford transhumanist Anders Sandberg ask if we are stuck in the matrix.



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