caring about simulated torture appears to be cost without benefit.

Generally the benefit of caring about about any bad thing is that if you care about it there will be less of it because you will work to stop it.

Well, Fred cared, and his reaction was to propose exterminating humanity. I assume you think his is a wrong decision. Can you say why?

If you care about simulated torture (or simulated pleasure), and you're willing to shut up and multiply, then anybody with a big enough computer can get you to do anything even when that computer has no inputs or outputs and makes absolutely no difference to the real world. I think it's better to adjust oneself so one does not care. It's not like it's a well-tested human value that my ancestors on the savannah acted upon repeatedly.