There is a significant chance we could be living inside a Matrix-like world where what we perceive as reality is in fact just virtual simulation.
"While the claim that this could be a reality may sound like it comes from conspiracy theorists, it is really from the Bank of America," says the Daily Mail.
In a memo sent out to investors last week, the bank's wealth management company, Merrill Lynch, said many experts believed that "there is a 20-50 per cent probability that humans are already living in a computer-simulated virtual world".
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It said it was "conceivable" that - with advancements in artificial intelligence, virtual reality and other technology - future civilisations could be running a simulation of their ancestors.
What are the bank's sources?
The bank cites a meeting of scientists, philosophers and business leaders who gathered at the American Museum of Natural History to debate the notion earlier this year.
Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and founder of Space X, Tesla and Paypal, has previously said there was only a "one in billions" chance that we are not already living in a Matrix-style world.
"Arguably we should hope that that's true, because if civilisation stops advancing, that may be due to some calamitous event that erases civilisation," he said.
So what does this mean?
If it is true, "we'd never know it", says Business Insider. "And if we're not, we're unlikely to create the matrix because if the matrix were plausible it would've been created anyway. And we'd be in it," it says.
-
How are ICE’s recruitment woes complicating Trump’s immigration agenda?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Lowered training standards and ‘athletically allergic’ hopefuls are getting in the way of the White House plan to turn the Department of Homeland Security into a federal police force
-
What is a bubble? Understanding the financial term.the explainer An AI bubble burst could be looming
-
France makes first arrests in Louvre jewels heistSpeed Read Two suspects were arrested in connection with the daytime theft of royal jewels from the museum
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
