Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen

It often seems to me as if the milieu or class of technology-savvy and allegedly, according to themselves at least, "rational" people who amalgamate around institutions such as MIRI and Less Wrong and around futurism gurus such as Nick Bostrom, Ray Kurzweil and Eliezer Yudkowsky believe pretty much the same things as people they would, as alleged rationalists in the computer age, most likely consider hopelessly backwards. The difference is that they cleverly tacked a 21st century terminology onto the same beliefs:

Wish-thinking: This world is so... mundane. And icky. Surely there must be a deeper, more perfect reality underlying it? Otherwise, what's the point?

What people used to believe: The world we see is only an imperfect shadow of a higher reality, where the really important stuff happens. What we need to do is to divest ourselves of the worldly stuff that is dragging us down and achieve secret knowledge and enlightenment.

But that is superstitious nonsense! Haha, we are not that naive and ignorant any more.

Instead, the truth is this: The world we see is only a holographic simulation run by a deeper reality.

Of course, the problem is this: There is no evidence for this hypothesis whatsoever. As has been wittily pointed out by the blogger ejwinner, people who believe this kind of stuff "think that the very fact of the invention indicates some greater truth about reality. Imagine when perspective was fine-tuned in painting during the Renaissance, some clever metaphysician, looking for the first time at a painting using the new technique, cried 'Eureka! Don't you see, that's clear evidence that we are merely layers of paint on the firmament!' That seems to me the same kind of reasoning that goes into theories that 'the universe is holographic, because, well, there's holography! we function like simulations because there are simulations that function like us!'."

Quite so. And likely the Neo-Platonic, Buddhist and Gnostic idea of a deeper spirit-reality comes from the same source; philosophers have always been terribly fascinated by the fact that ideas have some kind of strange existence independently of the thing that they are about. Take that tantalising insight and discard critical thinking and you get the nous...

Wish-thinking: It is so mean that we will have to die one day. I wish I could be immortal.

What people used to believe: The god of my choice has bestowed an immortal soul upon me, so that I may continue to exist after death, preferably in a kind of paradise that is much nicer than the world I inhabit now.

But that is superstitious nonsense! Haha, we are not that naive and ignorant any more.

Instead, the truth is this: Pretty soon, and with that I mean before I die, we will have such great computers and understand the human brain so well that I can have my mind uploaded, and then I will live forever in a virtual reality that is much nicer than the world I inhabit now.

Of course, the problem is this: Where to start? There is no reason to believe that we will have the necessary technology any time soon. Or ever; it is quite plausible that it is impossible in principle to scan the brain at the necessary level of detail without killing it on the way there. Even if it worked, immortality is quite relative if it only lasts to the next power outage or major sun storm. Also, an emulation of a thing inside a computer is not the thing, otherwise a scientist modelling climate scenarios would get the inside of their computer wet. Most importantly perhaps, even in the best case, if everything worked perfectly, what would continue in the computer would be a copy, not the original. The mind is not an item that can be moved around, it is a process. In other words, at best it would be like having a twin live on after one is dead, but one is still dead.

Wish-thinking: Darn, solving my problems is hard. Also, the world is kind of unfair. I wish it was like when I was a toddler, and daddy would come in and sort it all out for me.

What people used to believe: Pretty soon, the messiah is going to come (back?), the end of the world will take place, and then everything will be totally awesome. For us believers, at any rate.

But that is superstitious nonsense! Haha, we are not that naive and ignorant any more.

Instead, the truth is this: Pretty soon, we are going to invent a self-improving artificial intelligence, and then the technological singularity will take place, and everything will be totally awesome.

Of course, the problem is this: The whole idea is pure magical thinking. Singularitarians assume that a sufficiently intelligent being can do whatever it wants, irrespective of resource limits, the laws of physics, and other such considerations. They also assume that problems which we already know how to solve but for which we do not have the political will to implement the solutions will magically be solved in a way that doesn't cost anybody anything if one were only more intelligent. Yeah, right.

Wish-thinking: I wish the people who I dislike would BURN!

What people used to believe: When the end of the world comes, Jesus / God / the messiah will chuck everybody I cannot stand into hell.

But that is superstitious nonsense! Haha, we are not that naive and ignorant any more.

Instead, the truth is this: When the singularity comes, the god-like super-intelligence lording it over the post-singularity world will simulate every one of us who is alive now and punish the simulated minds of those who did not contribute enough to bring the singularity about quickly. That will show those singularity-deniers!

Of course, the problem is this: It will punish the simulated... This is getting too ridiculous. I'm outta here.