Submitted by often_says_nice t3_122dpxm in singularity
I've been thinking a lot lately about the astounding odds that we, as individuals and as a species, have overcome just to exist. It's a chain of improbabilities that leads us to this very moment, and it's left me wondering: Are we really this lucky?
First, let's consider the anthropic principle—the idea that we can only observe the universe in a way that is compatible with our existence. Our planet is the only one we've found so far that harbors life. We've gone through multiple extinction events, yet life persisted. The human race itself has faced annihilation numerous times, but we're still here. And on an individual level, each of us won a race against millions of other sperm cells to be born. It's absolutely mind-blowing.
Now, let's add another layer of improbability: the singularity. Out of all the generations of humans to have ever existed, we may be the first to experience this transformative event. The singularity could redefine what it means to be human and change the course of our existence. It seems absurdly improbable that it could happen in our lifetime, and the fact that it might just feels... unnatural.
I understand that each of these improbable events is predicated on the previous being true. We're only here to contemplate the singularity because we are the Nth generation of a species that managed to survive on the only known planet with life. Nonetheless, the feeling is incredibly strange.
RadioFreeAmerika t1_jdqd3cw wrote
Let's assume that our reality is an ancestor simulation. Maybe conducted by an artificial superintelligence. What would be the most interesting parts of history to simulate? Many would argue this to be the time up to the inception of the ASI.