The most critical element for meaningful experiences in whatever reality you're in, which is the existence of other people. I'm very curious to see whether VR technology will produce more worlds like say Second Life. We can't be 100% certain that other people do genuinely exist and have authentic experiences. But if we are, this has been my experience with my children and their, and their video game playing.
Last year, Rufus sat down with philosopher David Chalmers to talk about the allure of virtual reality, whether robots will ever achieve consciousness, and the likelihood that we’re living in a simulation (David thinks it’s about 25 percent). It was a fascinating, freewheeling conversation, and we left large chunks of it on the cutting room floor. Now, though, with ChatGPT and other generative AI platforms taking the world by storm, those unaired sections, many of which were about the ethics of artificial intelligence, feel super relevant. So today, we’re sharing our complete interview with David. Buckle up. It’s a wild ride.