The Matrix Essay -- essays research papers

<a href="http//www.geocities.com/vaksam/">Sam Vaknins Psychology, Philosophy, political economy and Foreign Affairs Web SitesIt is easy to confuse the concepts of "virtual(prenominal) realism" and a " data processorized model of reality (simulation)". The former is a self-contained Universe, fill with its "laws of physics" and "logic". It can bear resemblance to the real human or non. It can be consistent or not. It can interact with the real world or not. In short, it is an arbitrary environment. In contrast, a model of reality must have a direct and loyal relationship to the world. It must obey the rules of physics and of logic. The absence of such a relationship renders it meaningless. A flight simulator is not much good in a world without aeroplanes or if it ignores the laws of nature. A technical analysis schedule is useless without a stock exchange or if its mathematically erroneous. Yet, the both concepts are often confused b ecause they are both mediated by and reside on estimators. The computer is a self-contained (though not closed) Universe. It incorporates the hardware, the data and the instructions for the manipulation of the data (software). It is, therefore, by definition, a virtual reality. It is varied and can correlate its reality with the world outside. But it can in any case refrain from doing so. This is the ominous "what if" in artificial intelligence (AI). What if a computer were to refuse to correlate its internal (virtual) reality with the reality of its makers? What if it were to impose its have reality on us and make it the privileged one? In the visually tantalizing movie, "The Matrix", a breed of AI computers takes everyplace the world. It harvests human embryos in laboratories called "fields". It then feeds them through grim feeling tubes and keeps them immersed in gelatinous liquid in cocoons. This new "machine species" derives its brawnines s needs from the electricity produced by the billions of human bodies thus preserved. A sophisticated, all-pervasive, computer program called "The Matrix" generates a "world" inhabited by the cognisance of the unfortunate human batteries. Ensconced in their shells, they see themselves walking, talking, working and making love. This is a tangible and olfactory phantasm masterfully created by the Matrix. Its ... ... people the aforesaid(prenominal) way that the Universe triggers a time sensation in us. Something does witness OUT THERE and it is called the Matrix. In this sense, the Matrix is real, it is the reality of these humans. It maintains the requirement of the first base type of flow of data. But it fails the second test people do not know that it exists or any of its attributes, nor do they coin it irreversibly. They do not change the Matrix. Paradoxically, the rebels do affect the Matrix (they almost repeal it). In doing so, they make it REAL. It is the ir REALITY because they KNOW it and they irreversibly CHANGE it. Applying this dual-track test, "virtual" reality IS a reality, albeit, at this stage, of a deterministic type. It affects our minds, we know that it exists and we affect it in return. Our choices and actions irreversibly alter the state of the system. This altered state, in turn, affects our minds. This fundamental interaction IS what we call "reality". With the advent of stochastic and quantum virtual reality generators - the characteristic between "real" and "virtual" will fade. The Matrix thus is not impossible. But that it is possible - does not make it real.