Hacker Geohot decided to free people from the AI ​​simulation

At a time when scientists are arguing whether our Universe can be an advanced computer simulation, George Hotz , known as Geohot (cracker of the iPhone, Sony consoles and founder of startup Comma.ai), is sure of this. So much so that he was going to free humanity from the slavery of a computer system.

“There is no evidence that this is not so,” says the entrepreneur. "One can easily imagine entities, much smarter than us, who can build a cell, the existence of which you do not even know."

In principle, the idea that reality is nothing more than an illusion has existed for a long time. The ancient Greeks, including Pythagoras and Plato, thought about this. The latter indicated that only ideas are material, and all other objects are only shadows.

With the advent of the computer era, the theory of simulation has not disappeared, on the contrary, it has become very widespread. The idea was reflected in a number of games, films and books. Of course, “The Matrix” is the most famous for the majority, but it is far from the only work demonstrating its own implementation of the idea.

One of the most famous supporters that our world is an illusion recreated by a computer program is Nick Bostrom , a Swedish transhumanist philosopher and professor at Oxford University . He builds his proof on the basis of three theses, claiming that at least one of them is true.

1. Humanity will become extinct before it reaches the “posthuman” phase with a high degree of probability;
2. Each posthuman civilization is very unlikely to launch a significant number of simulations of its history or its variants;
3. Most likely, we live in a computer simulation.

Bostrom has several followers, including Elon Musk and the same Hotz. The latter began by creating a jailbreak for the first phone, then engaged in hacking Sony game consoles, worked on autopilot and now engaged in simulations and the release of humanity from them.

According to him, the most negative factor in the future will be that a person’s freedom of choice will gradually disappear. This will happen with a very high degree of probability.

Hotz spoke about his plans to establish a religion dedicated to an emulated universe. “I began to think about giving rise to a new religion and church. There are many structural problems with companies - there is no way to win. ” Hotz probably had in mind his own problems with the autopilot he developed, which he was forbidden to distribute in the United States - the regulators were very convincing.

“In the case of working with companies, you only lose. I believe that churches, religious movements may be more suitable for solving the problems I have conceived, and they are also suitable for carrying out work on preparing the withdrawal of society from the simulation. ” This idea is not new either. Before Hotz, it was implemented by Anthony Lewandowski, an ex-Google and Uber employee who launched the cult of the AI ​​deity (or something like that).

He opened a church preaching the faith called Way of the Future. The main goal of the movement is "the creation of a divine essence on the basis of artificial intelligence, so that its understanding and praise will benefit the public." Lewandowski said that he and his associates are planning to begin work on creating a “god,” an entity that is many times smarter than the most intelligent person.

Lewandowski claims that the superintelligent artificial intelligence can take care of the Earth better than humans. However, he fears that the latter may become something like pets for AI. As for the church itself (as well as religion), it was officially founded in 2015. Apparently, the organization’s budget is small and amounts to several tens of thousands of US dollars.

Geohot probably plans to go along roughly the same path as he believes in singularity and artificial intelligence. Hotz also stated during his speech that he believes that the singularity is very close. In his opinion, if you enter the era of singularity with the aspirations and desires of modern people, then the future will be simply terrible. However, the tasks of Hotz and Lewandowski differ from each other. If the first is sure that we live in a simulation and plans to leave it one way or another, then the second is going to become a “developer of God” - an AI that will rule over the world.

It is not yet clear how seriously Hotz talks about all this. But if at least half as serious as Lewandowski, then he really can do what he thinks.