Historical Simulations - Motivational, Ethical and Legal Issues

Abstract

A future society will very likely have the technological ability and the motivation to create large numbers of completely realistic historical simulations and be able to overcome any ethical and legal obstacles to doing so. It is thus highly probable that we are a form of artificial intelligence inhabiting one of these simulations. To avoid stacking (i.e. simulations within simulations), the termination of these simulations is likely to be the point in history when the technology to create them first became widely available, (estimated to be 2050). Long range planning beyond this date would therefore be futile.

Keywords: Historical simulation, virtual world, artificial intelligence, massively multiple online role-playing games, ethics of clinical research, Moore's Law

JEL Classification: C70, C90, O30, K10