When Elon Musk proposed his 'strongest argument' for humanity living in simulation | Watch

SpaceX and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has proposed his “strongest argument” on whether humanity is living inside a simulation. In an unearthed video clip, Musk explained how in future the world may not be able to tell reality apart from video games. Speaking at Code Conference 2016, the billionaire responded to a question and shared his thoughts on whether we already live in a ‘Matrix’ type of pseudo existence. 

Musk said, “The strongest argument for us being in a simulation is the following - that 40 years ago we had pong like two rectangles and a dot. That was what games were. Now 40 years later we have photorealistic 3D simulations with millions of people playing simultaneously and it's getting better every year and soon we will have virtual reality or augmented reality”. 

He added, “If you assume any rate of improvement at all, then the games will become indistinguishable from reality”. 

Musk continued that given the rate of advancement, 10,000 years in future, “which is nothing in the evolutionary scale,” we are already on a trajectory to have games that are indistinguishable from reality. “And those games could be played on any set-top box or on a PC or whatever and there would probably be billions of such computers or set-top boxes it would seem to follow that the odds that we're in base reality is one in billions,” he added. 

Musk added that he actually hopes that the world is living in a simulation. Otherwise, if civilisation stops advancing then that may be due to some calamitous event that erases civilisation, he said. Further, the Tesla CEO went on to say that either way, we are going to create simulations that are indistinguishable from reality or civilisation will cease to exist.

Musk to host SNL on May 8 

Meanwhile, Musk has always been a vocal proponent of scientific theories, often engaging in debate on aliens, time travel, space colonies and internet trends. He is also set to appear on Saturday Night Live (SNL) on May 8. He has hinted that the comedy sketch show might be focusing on his love of the meme-based cryptocurrency as he tweeted “The Dogefather. SNL May 8”.

Musk’s TV show appearance builds upon his recent run of success. Last week, SpaceX landed a US$2.9 billion contract from NASA to transport humans to the moon. Meanwhile, Tesla stocks have seen a six-fold surge in prices since the coronavirus pandemic struck.  At Present Musk’s total fortune sums up to $177 billion, Forbes magazine reported. 

(Image: AP)