Lex Fridman Podcast #130 – Scott Aaronson: Computational Complexity and Consciousness
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Oct 12, 2020 Scott Aaronson, a leading quantum computer scientist and professor at UT Austin, dives into the complexities of consciousness and reality. He discusses the philosophical implications of living in a simulation and how quantum mechanics intertwines with artificial intelligence. The conversation explores challenging topics, including theories of everything and the Turing test's relevance to machine consciousness. Aaronson also reflects on the nature of complexity in computational problems and its impact on technology, sparking deep questions about intelligence and existence.
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Simulation Indistinguishability
- A perfect simulation is indistinguishable from reality, making it impossible to know if we are in one.
- Imperfect simulations might offer exploitable bugs, akin to miracles in a world with flexible rules.
Universe as Computation
- The universe might operate like a Turing machine, suggesting that physical systems could be simulated given enough data.
- Whether our universe is a simulation within another is unverifiable if the simulation is perfect.
Unspecified Physics
- Scott Aaronson jokes about Peter Shor's idea that unresolved physics areas might be intentionally unspecified.
- Probing those areas, like a black hole's singularity, could cause a universe-crashing "overflow error."