Are we living in a computer simulation?

Journal article

I argue that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to become extinct before reaching a 'posthuman' stage; (2) any posthuman civilization is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of its evolutionary history (or variations thereof); (3) we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation. It follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we shall one day become posthumans who run ancestor-simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation. I discuss some consequences of this result. © The Editors of The Philosophical Quarterly, 2003.

Authors: Bostrom, N

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY
• Volume: 53
• Issue: 211
• Pages: 243-255
• Publication date: 2003-04-01
• DOI: 10.1111/1467-9213.00309
• ISSN: 0031-8094
• Language: English