Are We Living in a Computer Simulation?
Article first published online: 28 APR 2003
DOI: 10.1111/1467-9213.00309
The Editors of The Philosophical Quarterly, 2003
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How to Cite
Bostrom, N. (2003), Are We Living in a Computer Simulation?. The Philosophical Quarterly, 53: 243–255. doi: 10.1111/1467-9213.00309
Publication History
- Issue published online: 28 APR 2003
- Article first published online: 28 APR 2003
- Abstract
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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.

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