Is Something in Virtual Reality Real?

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i distinguish like five different meanings for the word real, of which maybe the three most are important. Something is real if it makes a difference, if it can actually affects things in the world, if has causal powers. And i argue that virtual reality can be real in all those senses. Just because you're diginal, just because these things are made of computer processes, doesn't follow that they're not real. They're perfectly real entities, but they're at some level made of diginal processes. I think even if we're in the simulation senario, i think they really are dogs and cats and people out there. But underneath, ah, at the level of just as there

Shermer speaks with University Professor of Philosophy and Neural Science and codirector of the Center for Mind, Brain and Consciousness at New York University, Dr. David Chalmers, to discuss: the hard problem of consciousness; virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence; VR inside a VR, indistinguishable from Reality; Are we living in a simulation?; Can you live a good life in VR?; Can AI systems be conscious? and more…

How do we know that there’s an external world? What is the nature of reality? What’s the relation between mind and body? Virtual reality is genuine reality; that’s the central thesis of David Chalmers’ book: Reality+ — a highly original work of “technophilosophy” in which Chalmers gives a compelling analysis of our technological future. He argues that virtual worlds are not second-class worlds, and that we can live a meaningful life in virtual reality. He uses virtual reality technology to offer a new perspective on long-established philosophical questions. We may even be in a virtual world already.