Are We Living in a Simulation? Nick Bostrom

What if everything you know is just a simulation?  In 2022, I was joined by the one and only Nick Bostrom to discuss the simulation hypothesis and the prospects of superintelligence.  Nick is a Professor at Oxford University, where he heads the Future of Humanity Institute as its founding director. He is the most-cited professional philosopher in the world aged 50 or under and is the author of some 200 publications, including Anthropic Bias (2002), Global Catastrophic Risks (2008), Human Enhancement (2009), and Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies (2014), a New York Times bestseller. With a background in theoretical physics, computational neuroscience, logic, and artificial intelligence, there is no one better to answer this question than him! Tune in.  — Key Takeaways:  00:00:00 Intro 00:00:44 Judging a book by its cover 00:05:22 How could an AI have emotions and be creative? 00:08:22 How could a computing device / AI feel pain? 00:13:09 The Turing test  00:20:02 The simulation hypothesis  00:22:27 Is there a "Drake Equation" for the simulation hypothesis? 00:27:16 Penroses' orchestrated objective reality  00:34:11 SETI and the prospect of extraterrestrial life  00:49:20 Are computers really getting "smarter"? 00:53:59 Audience questions 01:01:09 Outro — Additional resources:  📚 Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom: https://a.co/d/fYC5DH0  — ➡️ Follow me on your fav platforms: ✖️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating  🔔 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1  📝 Join my mailing list: https://briankeating.com/list  ✍️ Check out my blog: https://briankeating.com/cosmic-musings/  🎙️ Follow my podcast: https://briankeating.com/podcast  — Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known. Make sure to follow so you never miss an episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices