Extraterrestrial First Contact: Simulation Universe

Theorists have postulated that we could be living in a simulation: an artificially created universe designed for purposes unknown to us. The latest proponent is MIT researcher Rizwan Virk. The computer scientist has a new book: “The Simulation Hypothesis.” Digital Trends interviews him in a recent article. He says that there is a 50 to 100 percent chance we are living in a computer simulation. Of course, such speculation has no scientific evidence, but it is an intriguing idea that could have a big impact on extraterrestrial First Contact.

Nick Bostrom with Oxford University proposed simulation theory in 2003. But the origination of the idea comes from science fiction through the years, most notably in the 1999 movie “The Matrix.” Virk thinks that the level of sophistication of our video games, and virtual reality, shows that such a simulation could be possible with much more advanced technology.

A simulation universe leads to a couple of interesting possibilities when it comes to extraterrestrials. They could also be participants in the simulation, with no greater knowledge of the truth than us. They could be participants who have already figured out the truth. Or they may not exist at all. If there is a simulation, perhaps the creators just wanted to see how one civilization, alone in the universe, would develop. That would explain the so-called “eerie silence” that researchers use to describe the lack of observable signals from extraterrestrials.

Knowledge of a simulation universe would have a great impact on the psyche of humans. It could cause some people to go mad and give up living. It could cause anarchy in society as people decide to no longer let rules dictate their actions. We take our reality quite seriously. A disruptive revelation of such a magnitude could send us into a tailspin. Or we could be convinced that such matters don’t change anything for our individual lives. After all, what really would change? We would still need to breathe, eat sandwiches, and keep out of the cold. If we didn’t attend work we would still be fired and not have enough money to survive.  Simulation could become a new religion- something that doesn’t necessarily directly impact our day to day life, unless we choose to make decisions based on that belief. It seems likely many people would hold onto their old religions and reject simulation theory, even if we do find evidence for it.

The big takeaway from these considerations is this- extraterrestrial contact could be like nothing we have previously imagined and very disruptive to our sense of reality. We imagine all sorts of lovely things coming from extraterrestrial contact- new knowledge and advanced technology. But the revelations extraterrestrials provide about our reality could be more than we can bear.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash