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tut comments on [Open Thread] Stupid Questions (2014-02-17) - Less Wrong
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I've been trying to wrap my head around arguments involving simulations, e.g. what to do if Skynet (replace with whatever AI you prefer to hate) threatens to torture a large number of simulations of you, etc.
Here is my stupid question: why can't we humans use a similar threat? Why can't I say that, if you don't cooperate with my wishes, I'll torture imaginary versions of you inside my head? It's not like my brain isn't another information processing device, so what is it about my imagination that feels less compelling than Skynet's?
You can't simulate anything in the relevant sense. Personally I don't care about the threat you refer to even when it comes from skynet, but the thing that makes some people care is that the simulation contains all information that's in their conscious mind, and thus plausibly is conscious and suffers for real.