Just imagine that your entire existence is not real. While this sounds like something out of The Matrix, the idea that we live in a computer simulation is being taken seriously by some leading thinkers. They even argue that this is even more likely than the idea of a ‘real’ world.
Physics professor Melvin Vopson proposes a provocative theory: God could be an artificial intelligence controlling a simulated reality.
Vopson, a physicist at the University of Portsmouth, suggests that the Bible may contain clues to understanding this simulated existence. He points to a verse from the Gospel of John:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Professor interprets ‘the Word’ as the fundamental code that drives the simulation. He suggests that this code is not separate from the divine, but may actually represent an AI that created and controls our universe.
“The code that runs the simulation is not separate from the divine, but rather an integral part of it, perhaps an AI,” he explained. Email online.
“It implies a Creator who brought into being the simulated universe through the Word (i.e. the code). It suggests that the act of creation, as described in the Bible, could be analogous to a divine act of programming and simulation.”
He also points out how this interpretation fits in with modern developments such as AI and reflects the themes in The Matrix.
Despite these ideas, there remains no definitive proof that we are living in a simulation, let alone that the Bible offers insight into such a reality.
“Rather than viewing the simulated universe hypothesis as contradictory to religious beliefs, one can see it as a complementary perspective,” Vopson adds.
The professor has previously pointed out that our lives are filled with clues that suggest we may be characters in a highly advanced virtual world. One such clue is the limitation of the speed of light and sound, which he believes could reflect the limitations of a computer processor.
He also compares the laws of physics to computer code, suggesting that the fundamental particles that make up matter are similar to pixels on a digital display.
Furthermore, he speculates that the widespread presence of symmetry in nature – from flowers and butterflies to snowflakes – could be an energy-saving strategy used by the machines that run this digital simulation.
