I’m aware of that line of reasoning; what I’m proposing is a deliberate rejection of some of it’s assumptions.
There are several mythic precedents; if the universe is arranged a certain way, then at least from a certain perspective, the best course of action is to sit down, shut up, and dance to the head of the pantheon’s tune. But looked at another way, greater rewards can be found in the dignity of rebellion and choosing one’s own path, even if it means getting cast down or having your liver eternally gnawed upon—or being un-simulated.
Being un-simulated, or death in a materialistic/naturalistic reality, is probably the least scary future there is. If you don’t exist, then you can’t feel pain, remorse, or even regrets.
Precisely (or at least arguably) - and that’s part of the point.
I’ll try describing this a different way: What actions can we take that would have an effect on the actions of a simulation-builder? What can we do that would make them more likely to not create a simulation at all, then to create a new one containing copies of ourselves who are ignorant of the builder’s level of reality?
If it’s in my own best interests to have a few future copies of myself as possible placed into simulations to dance to the simulation-builder’s tune, then how can I nudge the probabilities so that future copies of myself tend to be placed into my preferred sorts of environments?
If you are living in a simulation and the anthropic principle holds, then yes, you probably do want to arrange your life to be interesting.
I’m aware of that line of reasoning; what I’m proposing is a deliberate rejection of some of it’s assumptions.
There are several mythic precedents; if the universe is arranged a certain way, then at least from a certain perspective, the best course of action is to sit down, shut up, and dance to the head of the pantheon’s tune. But looked at another way, greater rewards can be found in the dignity of rebellion and choosing one’s own path, even if it means getting cast down or having your liver eternally gnawed upon—or being un-simulated.
Being un-simulated, or death in a materialistic/naturalistic reality, is probably the least scary future there is. If you don’t exist, then you can’t feel pain, remorse, or even regrets.
Precisely (or at least arguably) - and that’s part of the point.
I’ll try describing this a different way: What actions can we take that would have an effect on the actions of a simulation-builder? What can we do that would make them more likely to not create a simulation at all, then to create a new one containing copies of ourselves who are ignorant of the builder’s level of reality?
If it’s in my own best interests to have a few future copies of myself as possible placed into simulations to dance to the simulation-builder’s tune, then how can I nudge the probabilities so that future copies of myself tend to be placed into my preferred sorts of environments?