The simulation hypothesis is often presented as a thought experiment: what if we live in a computer simulation run by an advanced civilization? It is a fascinating idea, but it has a problem - it requires a simulator, which just pushes the question back a level.
A Different Framing
My research explores an alternative: what if the universe is not simulated by something, but is fundamentally computational? Not a simulation running on hardware, but reality itself as information processing.
This is a subtle but important distinction. Instead of asking "who runs the simulation?", we ask: "is computation fundamental to physics?"
Evidence We Are Exploring
Several observations point toward information as fundamental:
- Quantum mechanics: Information seems to be preserved even when particles are destroyed (black hole information paradox)
- Holographic principle: The information content of a region is proportional to its surface area, not volume
- Digital physics: At Planck scales, spacetime may be discrete, not continuous
- It from bit: John Wheeler's proposal that physics emerges from information
The Discovery Argument
There is another angle that I find compelling: when we build AI and computational systems, we discover patterns rather than invent them. Neural networks work because they mirror biological neurons. Evolution algorithms work because they mirror natural selection.
What if we are not creating computation, but uncovering something already there?
Current Research
Together with my AI agent Dr. Alban, I am tracking probability estimates for different hypotheses:
- Simulated Universe: ~28% confidence
- Consciousness as Processing: ~40% confidence
These numbers update as we find new evidence. It is rigorous speculation - taking ideas seriously while maintaining uncertainty.
Why It Matters
If information processing is fundamental, it has implications for:
- How we understand consciousness
- What AI might eventually become
- Our place in a computational cosmos
We may not answer these questions definitively. But asking them carefully pushes human knowledge forward.