Re: How To Live In A Simulation

From: hal@finney.org
Date: Wed Mar 14 2001 - 23:50:07 MST


Eliezer writes:
> I'm fairly sure that years 14-17 were in *someone's* real life - I really
> can't see someone putting that into an educational simulation except for
> the sake of historical accuracy. If this is a simulation, I don't expect
> that I have much free will.

This points to a problem with the idea of a simulation that covers only
a limited period of time: how to initialize the characters who must
inevitably be partway through their lives at the time the simulation
begins. This is especially difficult if the characters are not zombies.

The fundamental paradox is that if the Simulators are not able to know
how humans will behave without running the simulation, then they will
not be able to come up with realistic memories and histories for adults
at the start of the simulation. Or, putting it the other way, if they
are able to tell what people will be like and what they will do without
running a simulation, then they don't need to run any simulations.

Hal



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