Simulated consciousness in fiction

Simulated consciousness,synthetic consciousness,etc. is a theme of a number of works inscience fiction.The theme is one step beyond the concept of the "brain in a vat"/"simulated reality"in that not only the perceived reality but thebrainand itsconsciousnessare simulations themselves.

Stanislaw Lem'sprofessor Corcoran(met byIjon Tichyduring his interstellar travels, first published by Lem in 1961^[1]) simulated conscious agents (personoids) to actually test the viability of the "simulation hypothesis"of the reality, i.e., the idea ofsolipsism.^[2]

In the 1954 storyThe Tunnel under the WorldbyFrederik Pohl,a whole city was simulated in order to run tests of the efficiency of advertising campaigns, and the plot evolves from the point when one "simulacrum" suddenly notices that every day is June 15.^[3]Pohl's idea was elaborated inSimulacron-3(1964) byDaniel F. Galouye(alternative title:Counterfeit World), which tells the story of a virtual city developed as a computer simulation for market research purposes. In this city the simulated inhabitants possess consciousness; all but one of the inhabitants are unaware of the true nature of their world.^[4]

Furthermore, various novels byGreg Egansuch asPermutation City(1994),Diaspora(1997) andSchild's Ladder(2002) explore the concept of simulated consciousness.^[5]

References[edit]

^Lem, Stanislaw (1 February 2000).Memoirs of a Space Traveler: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy.Northwestern University Press. p. 39.ISBN 978-0-8101-1732-7.Retrieved29 July2013.
^Swirski, Peter (27 July 2006).The Art and Science of Stanislaw Lem.McGill-Queen's Press. p. 118.ISBN 978-0-7735-7507-3.Retrieved29 July2013.
^Stratmann, H. G. (2015).Using Medicine in Science Fiction: The SF Writer's Guide to Human Biology.Springer. p. 493.ISBN 978-3-319-16015-3.
^Garner, Tom A. (2017).Echoes of Other Worlds: Sound in Virtual Reality: Past, Present and Future.Springer. p. 141.ISBN 978-3-319-65708-0.
^"An Interview With Greg Egan | Counting Backwards From Infinity".Eidolon Magazine.15:42–45. July 1994.Retrieved27 July2018.

[corc-1] Lem, Stanislaw (1 February 2000).Memoirs of a Space Traveler: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy.Northwestern University Press. p. 39.ISBN 978-0-8101-1732-7.Retrieved29 July2013.

[Swirski2006-2] Swirski, Peter (27 July 2006).The Art and Science of Stanislaw Lem.McGill-Queen's Press. p. 118.ISBN 978-0-7735-7507-3.Retrieved29 July2013.

[3] Stratmann, H. G. (2015).Using Medicine in Science Fiction: The SF Writer's Guide to Human Biology.Springer. p. 493.ISBN 978-3-319-16015-3.

[4] Garner, Tom A. (2017).Echoes of Other Worlds: Sound in Virtual Reality: Past, Present and Future.Springer. p. 141.ISBN 978-3-319-65708-0.

[5] "An Interview With Greg Egan | Counting Backwards From Infinity".Eidolon Magazine.15:42–45. July 1994.Retrieved27 July2018.

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