Issue No. 10

Listen to this week’s issue.

At the end of the day, we're all alone in our heads. When you sleep, it's just you inside—no one else is there but you. The voice, the one that often nags you about regrets, insecurities, and worries, is just your voice and no one else's. We're all alone in our minds. Our brains are so vulnerable that if you hit your head hard enough, you could forget everything you know. And to think that all the things we know about the world are contained within it is mind-boggling, no pun intended.

Take a minute to think about it. Everything that you are, everything that you know—every experience, emotion, sensation, and perception—is contained in a vulnerable piece of flesh that looks lifeless when removed from the skull. You are just flesh controlling a set of bones and muscles, moving around, trying to make sense of the world. By the end of your life, the particles that make up your being will scatter into the environment like dust. Perhaps what was mentioned in the Bible about humans being made of dust isn't so crazy after all.

Consciousness, I believe, is the most fascinating aspect of our existence. Science has already demonstrated how living things like us can evolve and come to life. They can now create artificial cells that mimic real cells, and one day, they may be able to replicate you in the same way.

Scientists and metaphysicists propose that consciousness arises from the complex integration of information within the brain. The connections and vast amount of information it can contain result in inevitable higher-order thought processes, including self-awareness. Perhaps that's why we don't remember being conscious when we were five years old. Consciousness didn't emerge suddenly—it was a gradual process. This means that the artificial intelligence we are building today could one day become self-aware and conscious. That's not what surprises me. What's truly astonishing is whether it's possible that we ourselves were created in the same manner.

There is a well-known metaphysical hypothesis put forth by philosopher and futurist Nick Bostrom. In his paper titled "Are We Living in a Simulation?" he proposes three possibilities regarding the reality of the universe and ourselves. One of these possibilities must be true:

In my own opinion, our obsession with simulations cannot be overstated. We simulate nearly everything we encounter—from how proteins fold inside cells to how populations move in space, from flying a plane to interacting with AI. We simulate physical systems, social systems, biological systems, and more. The fascination lies in the fact that when these simulations work on a computer, it confirms something about reality—that it is measurable and predictable. Predictability is our civilization's greatest insight into the world. It's the reason our ancestors developed agriculture, by understanding when specific seasons occur.

In the year 2023, the video games we run on regular computers already look identical to reality. There's a video game called "Unrecord" set to launch, powered by Unreal Engine 5, a cutting-edge, real-time 3D creation platform developed by Epic Games. If you look at the demo of this game, you would think it's a video recording of a real place.

NVIDIA, a technology company specializing in designing and manufacturing graphics processing units (GPUs) and other computer hardware and software technologies, is currently developing AI chips that have the ability to make Non-Player Characters (NPCs) in games speak and react to their environment-like real humans. What lies ahead in the next 20 years? These game characters will gain awareness of their existence within the game. Does this concept sound familiar?

Although it may resemble science fiction, this phenomenon is happening right now. Developers are presently captivated by AI due to recent advancements, including ChatGPT. AI can replicate your voice, think and learn faster than humans, and generate solutions that have yet to be conceived. It can create stories, compose music, draw, paint, work, and more, without ever experiencing fatigue. How can one possibly compete with such capabilities?

However, amidst this grim reality, there is also hope associated with AI. It has the potential to pave the way for solutions to diseases like cancer. With a comprehensive understanding of our DNA, we may be able to manipulate our genetic makeup to the most intricate details, even potentially halting or reversing the aging process itself. After all, our biological nature is ultimately dictated by the codes embedded in chemicals—A-C-T-G. These four codes define our existence.

Most rational scientists, businessmen, and politicians view this technological breakthrough as akin to the creation of the Atomic Bomb or the Internet. Nobody knows where it will lead us. It has the potential to lead to our extinction, a real possibility that might actually come to pass. But you don't have to worry about that; you're alone inside your head anyway. That's what's real.

Regardless of whatever THIS is, one thing is certain—it is all impermanent.

The Mystery of the Mind
Photo by Gabriel