Loosely Assembled

Rad

“They say their services will include sermons on “the Force,” light sabre training, and meditation techniques.”

from the BBC

A video from the Aspen Institute’s Ideas Festival : The Neuroscience of Consciousness, Perception and Self

Nick Bostrom: ”

Are you Living in a Computer Simulation?

ABSTRACT: This paper argues that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; (2) any posthuman civilization is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of their 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 will one day become posthumans who run ancestor-simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation. A number of other consequences of this result are also discussed. Are you Living in a Computer Simulation? by Nick Bostrom, Department of Philosophy, Oxford University.

‘Why the Matrix? Why did the machines do it? (Human brains may be many things, but efficient batteries they are not.) How could they justify a world whose inhabitants are systematically deceived about their fundamental reality, ignorant about the reason why they exist, and subject to all the cruelty and suffering that we witness in the world around us?’ From Why Make a Matrix? And Why You Might Be In One: by Nick Bostrom.

Also see: Simulism is a concept that deals with the possibility that we are living in a simulation.

“

(Via networked_performance.)

Mark Baard of The Register has a terrifying article published this week about technocratic totalitarian dystopia.

the US Department of Defense (DOD) may already be creating a copy of you in an alternate reality to see how long you can go without food or water, or how you will respond to televised propaganda.

The DOD is developing a parallel to Planet Earth, with billions of individual “nodes” to reflect every man, woman, and child this side of the dividing line between reality and AR.

Called the Sentient World Simulation (SWS), it will be a “synthetic mirror of the real world with automated continuous calibration with respect to current real-world information”, according to a concept paper for the project.

“SWS provides an environment for testing Psychological Operations (PSYOP),” the paper reads, so that military leaders can “develop and test multiple courses of action to anticipate and shape behaviors of adversaries, neutrals, and partners”.

This is gnarly!

Our simulations are built upon the SEAS (Synthetic Environments for Analysis and Simulation) technology. Originally designed for military war-gaming applications, SEAS has been expanded to factor in research from the fields of management, economics, and psychology. The result is a revolutionary new technology, blending easy-to-use visual interfaces and complex artificial intelligence: half simulation, half interactive war-game, and better than either alone. Senior decision makers have used SEAS to solve problems ranging from business strategies to disaster management.

Government Clients

• United States Department of Defense
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• United States Army Recruiting Command
• United States Joint Forces Command
• Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center

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• Eli Lilly
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