Are we real? Can you prove it? From Descartes to The Matrix, doubting the perception of reality has been an intriguing topic of conversation for centuries. With a tremendous increase in the development of tech, we explore the blurry lines of having our minds tricked into believing that a certain reality is actually a digital creation.

Paul Coventry

What is simulation theory? 

Simulation theory is the concept that we are all virtual beings living in a computer simulation. So, it’s no surprise that the subject is bubbling to the surface again taking into consideration the radical development and speed of the transformation of technology.

But where did this hypothesis originate?

For this, we have to go way back in time, as far back as ancient China in fact, where we are introduced to an ancient Chinese text, Zhuangzi, written by Daoist philosopher, Zhuang Zhou. The story goes that Zhuang Zhou had a dream that he was a butterfly, with no recollection of his human form. He’d explore the world with his erratic fluttering pattern unique to butterflies, swimming through the air without a care in the world, until…

Suddenly Zhuang Zhou awakens. He feels for his legs and pinches his skin just hard enough for it not to be too painful. It was all a dream; Zhuang Zhou is human after all. Or is he? Could it be the reverse? That he’s a butterfly dreaming he’s a human?

Can dreams really be a sign of simulation?

The writing is on the wall—literally. Zhuang Zhou wrote about his belief that this was a transformation of consciousness and awareness. One lay in reality; the other in illusion. Here lay the divergence of mental states. From this, a philosophical dilemma was born.

Other theories of course followed. René Descartes and Plato both queried the role our senses act as a catalyst for pure perceptions of reality.

Fast forwarding to more modern times, the Swedish-born philosopher, Nick Bostrom has made several proposals based primarily around a “posthuman” civilization. In his published paper, Are You Living in A Computer Simulation? he puts forward the question: “If there were a substantial chance that our civilization will ever get to the posthuman stage and run many ancestor‐simulations, then how come you are not living in such a simulation?”

Rebecka Cedering-Ångström, Principal Researcher, Consumer and Industry Lab touches on a similar tone: “One of the perks with simulations is that you can play out or test different scenarios, which we already do today.” She continues: “Creating simulations of the historical Earth would generate a lot of interesting insights! For instance, what would have happened if humanity invented a technology or made a scientific breakthrough earlier or later than expected, like the vaccine? What would have happened if we solved, or didn’t solve, the climate crisis in time? How would different decisions in our history yield different futures for humanity? What would life on Earth be like if humans could breathe under water, or read minds? If we can make life-like and real simulations in the future, imagine what we could explore (provided it’s ethically and morally accepted)!”

Connected intelligent machines: Read the report

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How close are we to making the physical world fully programmable?

The internet of senses is one of three key drivers we’ve established at Ericsson that are most significant to the evolution of the network platform and are all related to bridging the gap between physical reality and the digital realm. The development of cyber-physical systems takes us even closer to producing a believable digital reality.

Another key driver is connected intelligent machines. As their capabilities to self-learn and interact and communicate with each other grow stronger—particularly with support from AI-to-AI communication and autonomous systems—the more likely we’ll see them generating hypotheses and reasoned arguments, making recommendations, and taking actions. That said, will intelligent machines ever be able to achieve the heights of artificial general intelligence? Moreover, will we be able to create a simulation embedded in a believable reality? The closest to a believable simulation right now is probably within the gaming industry. It may come as no surprise that the first such merged visual experience is projected by consumers to be in this field. More than 7 in 10 respondents believe VR game worlds will look indistinguishable from physical reality by 2030.

Virtual reality is also providing much more innovative opportunities for the virtual representation of a real-world entity.

Digital Twin connectivity

Whereas simulations can help us to measure and analyze our way through proposed changes in a virtual environment, a digital twin can recreate digital representations using real-time data as well as help us understand alternative scenarios. As a virtual representation of a physical object or system, a Digital Twin acts as a mirror to provide a means to simulate, predict, forecast behavior, and possibly control the object where applicable. It can be viewed through a digital interface, such as virtual reality glasses. The Ericsson Operations AI Framework was used as a reference for the design of the Digital Twins, and it has been a critical solution in some of our most large-scale operations.

Take our work with the Port of Livorno for example. Here, a digital twin allowed workers to operate at the intersection of cyber and physical worlds. Data collected through 5G fed an Ericsson-developed digital twin engine, which developed a virtual replica of the port area in real time. The virtual environment enabled a faster and better management of the general cargo and optimized the intra-terminal operations. This augmented-reality approach could well be the innovation platform for the future of critical port operations.

Find out more about the work with Digital Twins at the Port of Livorno.

The internet of senses

When The Matrix was released in 1997, it popularized the simulation theory across the globe. With the fourth Matrix movie set for release later in 2021, it’s an overwhelming thought of just how much technology has changed since the original. Although, in today’s reality, we still may not be living in a simulation, we are certainly far more equipped to create a believable virtual simulation.

Artificial protagonists are even becoming prominent in mainstream literature. In Nobel Prize winner, Kazuo Ishiguro’s new novel, Klara and The Sun; Klara is an “artificial friend”, purchased by parents for the sole purpose of becoming a trusty companion to their teenage kids. Solar-powered Klara views the world as you’d imagine an innovative machine brain would; digesting each segment of land in grid form, as if using an algorithm where potential danger is highlighted using red squares. Klara seems to represent the notion that although AI is rapidly gaining more intelligence and showing up in more areas of our lives, it still lacks the unmatched internal depth of emotional senses felt by humans.

We may not be able to create a simulated world right now, but the creations that are apparent in our world are making it difficult to distinguish from the digital. Today, there’s even a white-collar employee perspective on a potential future reality where digital technology by 2030 could interact with our senses. It begs the question, could this be the future of the workplace?

With hundreds of billions of connected physical objects using embedded sensing, actuation, and computing capabilities to continuously generate informative data, an accurate digital representation of the physical environment is becoming more of a reality than ever.

An Ericsson report, The Dematerialized Office, which delves into the internet of senses in a 2030 future workplace, found that employees want an internet of senses for work. It seems employees are keen to experience the full-sense digital home office, with over half of respondents disclosing a need for a digital workstation allowing full-sense presence at work from anywhere. Even outside of the office, immersive full-sense sales environments, such as a virtual shopping mall or warehouse ­– that create the opportunity to digitally try before you buy – seem to be favored by the majority of those surveyed.

We’ve even reached the point where we might be accepting digital snacks from our colleagues. 73 percent of senior managers believe that food in the company canteen could be digitally enhanced to taste like anything by 2030.

Read all about the dematerialized office: The internet of senses goes to work.

Michael Björn, Head of Research Agenda at Ericsson’s Consumer Lab, sums up his thoughts: “Asking ourselves if we’re living in a simulation may be interesting from a philosophical perspective, but even if we are, we may never find out. Meanwhile, it’s easy to observe that digital and physical realities are continuing to merge at a rapid pace.

“Take money for example: It has now been such a long time since I used actual banknotes and coins that I only vaguely know the designs on the respective denominations. And I haven’t been to a bank in many years. My salary is just a number in a bank account that I access with credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay and so on. But I still think of it as real money, not a simulation.

“Similarly, I believe we will continue to digitalize other everyday activities – including sensory experiences like touch, taste and smell. But since this will happen gradually, we’ll be able to integrate these digital and physical aspects in a very natural way. Now, if I could just get one of those digitally enhanced veggie burgers, please…”

Rebecka Cedering-Ångström agrees that in a sense, we may never know if we live in a simulation. But that shouldn’t stop us from tackling what’s in front of us: “If we live in a simulation, the ‘reality’ we experience is set by parameters that do not have to correspond with the ’reality’ outside at all. In fact, this might be a unique reality, and the earth and humanity as we know it may not even exist out there. In that case, you could say we live in our (own) reality. Therefore, no matter if we live in a simulation or not, we need to keep focusing on our current challenges. We have a climate crisis on our hands for instance, and we need to solve it. Because this is most likely the ONLY reality we will get.”

The journey from simulation to digital twin (or digital veggie burger) involves a staggering leap in technological development. Accuracy will always be the major factor that verifies the believability and acceptance of the technology in years to come.

Ultimately, it appears we are indeed real…for now. But the immense potential of our capabilities as humans to advance technologies and create an authentic digital reality is undeniable. Yet it almost leaves us with more questions: How much longer will we be able to fully trust our senses? Or how long will it take before simulations become a full-blown reality in our everyday lives? 2030 suddenly doesn’t feel too far away…