What is reality？How do we know that our understanding of the world is not an illusion，I am not in a dream at this moment？2022，The publication of "Reality+" by David Chalmers, professor of philosophy and neuroscience at New York University, USA，This once again triggered a heated discussion about what reality is。In this book，Chalmers asserts: “Virtual reality is real reality。To say the least，Virtual reality is real as a whole。The virtual world is not necessarily the secondary real world，It may also be the original world。"Is virtual reality really a reality?"，Karina Vold, associate professor at the Institute of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology at the University of Toronto, Canada, said in an exclusive interview with this reporter，Chalmers’ view is too optimistic，It is still necessary to distinguish between the digital world and the physical world。She also analyzed the ethical issues brought about by artificial intelligence，And gave his own predictions on the development prospects of philosophy of technology。

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"Chinese Social Sciences Journal": From the perspective of philosophical tradition，When did the discussion about reality and its definition begin？

Wald:Discussions about the nature of reality have a long history in philosophy。In Eastern Tradition，These discussions date back at least to the time of Zhuangzi，His "Dream Butterfly" fable tells of his dream that he was a butterfly，After waking up，He couldn’t figure out whether he was Zhuang Zhou or a butterfly。After all, he turned into a butterfly in his dream，The butterfly turned into Zhuang Zhou in his dream？The story of Zhuang Zhou Mengdie tells us，From a long time ago，People reflect on their identity and existence。This fable raises the question: are we really experiencing what we think of as reality，Still dreaming？There are similar philosophical stories in ancient India。For example，The story about Vishnu coming and transforming people into new situations。In Western Philosophy，We can trace questions about the nature of reality back to the ancient Greeks。For example，In ancient Greek philosophy，Plato’s Allegory of the Cave raises the question of whether we really live in reality。

　"Chinese Social Sciences Journal": Both Chinese and Western philosophical traditions have discussions on the nature of reality。In your opinion，Can humans truly understand the nature of reality，Still limited by our perception and cognitive framework, we may never get the answer？

Wald:We humans are limited in our understanding of the nature of reality。We are limited by external perception，That is, the way to obtain external information，So I think the discussion of reality will continue。But this does not mean that we are completely unable to obtain any knowledge about the external world，It means that the way we understand what reality is and what we can understand are limited。

　　“Virtual Realism” challenges common sense

《Chinese Social Sciences Journal》：Present，Most people think of the online world、Game World、Virtual spaces such as the Metaverse are less "realistic" than the physical world，It is the second level of reality，And David Chalmers thinks the online world is real too。What do you think about this？Why should we challenge common sense？

Wald:In his work "Reality+"，Chalmers proposed a view he calls "virtual realism"，Think virtual reality is real reality。In defending this view，He challenged common sense views。People generally think，Virtual reality is fake or fictional，Involving hallucinations，In other words, the objects in virtual reality are not real。In Chalmers’ view，What happens in virtual reality is real，The objects in virtual reality are - or at least can be - real objects that really exist。On this basis，Proposed by Chalmers，Reality has at least five different meanings (the five criteria of the real world are: existence、Causal Power、Independence of mind、Non-illusion and authenticity)，And virtual objects can be real in four of these five senses。

My personal opinion，It Bet365 lotto review is important to maintain a distinction between physical and digital objects，This is something Chalmers still acknowledges but perhaps does not emphasize enough。

The role of common sense in philosophy is complex。On the one hand，Common sense guides our philosophical intuition，It is data and evidence，Deviation from common sense can be seen as a sign that a mistake is about to be made。On the other hand，Common sense is incompatible or wrong in some important details，Can only be clarified by scientific or philosophical investigation。Therefore，Philosophers must respond to common sense，Responsible for it，But we cannot be bound by common sense。Emerging technologies like virtual reality and artificial intelligence are particularly useful to philosophers，Because they bring about the world、New possibilities for reality and the human condition。Therefore，Reflect on new technologies or technologies that may appear in the future，Valuable to scholars interested in various areas of philosophy。

I co-authored a new paper with other scholars，Mainly reflect on the ethical impact of neurotechnology。In paper，We discussed rapidly evolving technologies，Such as intelligent prostheses (also known as neuroprostheses) and brain-computer interfaces。These technologies once only appeared in science fiction movies，Now it is gradually becoming a reality。As interaction with neurotechnology deepens，Users report that tools are becoming part of themselves and their thinking。We think，The extended cognition hypothesis—an increasingly popular philosophical view of the mind—could explain this intuition，Because，In its opinion，Artifacts can become part of the user’s psyche。However，There are also some examples，Users suddenly lose access to their cognitive tools，This shows the fragility and instability of related technologies。These situations seem to challenge the idea that users can have the right relationship with their tools to meet the equivalence criteria traditionally underpinning extended cognitive theory。Especially，These technologies appear to violate a condition bet365 best casino games of ownership，That is, we “own” our thoughts and thought contents in a sense，This condition has been mentioned several times in the extended cognition literature published over the past 20 years。Beyond the idea that smart prosthetics can become part of an individual’s extended cognitive system (albeit with obvious challenges to ownership conditions)，We will also use these new technologies to re-evaluate the status of ownership standards。We think，It is necessary to introduce the new concept of joint ownership，Also more appropriate in explaining the capabilities of advanced cognitive technologies。

　　Pay attention to ethical issues in the virtual world

《China Social Sciences Journal》: What are the philosophical implications of spending a lot of time in virtual reality？How should we respond to the possibility that virtual reality can be used as a tool to escape real problems？

Wald:For individuals and society，Spending more and more time in virtual reality may bring important ethical implications、Cognitive and Social Impact。This can lead to various cognitive or moral declines，For example，People will lack social skills and empathy，It may also undermine social cohesion，For example，Lack of sense of belonging to community。However，Virtual reality may also have a positive impact in these areas，A lot will depend on the nature of VR - it is a well-designed world，Will convey the correct values，Promote social interaction on the Internet；Still isolated、Hyper-personalized experience，Will cause users to fall into their own "private bubble"？We still need the physical world to survive (unless we live in some kind of simulation system)，We need a healthy and safe physical environment，Need more physical interaction with each other。From a technical point of view，We are still far from a situation where most of our time is spent in virtual reality。During this period，We can still pass governance、Regulations and other efforts to promote responsible design shape the technologies on which virtual worlds will be built。

　　"China Social Sciences Journal": Is it possible for us to have enough computing power and electricity to create a virtual world as colorful as the current physical world？Even if full virtual reality is possible，Should we risk creating it？

Wald:This is a good question。In my opinion，Chalmers is very optimistic about the power and accuracy of future simulation technology。In "Reality+"，He wrote: "There is a view that，Digital computers can never fully simulate the physical laws of the continuum，The latter contains an exact quantification of the continuum。This view is questionable。Digital simulation technology should be able to approximate known physical laws，Achieve a certain level of accuracy。And，At least in theory，An analog computer for processing continuous values ​​(perhaps an analog quantum computer) has the potential to fully simulate known laws。"In the following part，Chalmers cited Moore's Law as evidence that technology will continue to advance at a rapid pace。Moore’s Law is not a real law，But the experience of Gordon Moore, one of the founders of Ingels，It is his observation on the progress of computer hardware，That is, the number of transistors on a single chip doubles approximately every two years，Cost will be reduced as a result。But Moore’s Law is not a law of nature，It is a fragile assumption about the future development of computing power。Actually，Many including Moore himself，All point out that this kind of progress cannot continue forever，Has its physical limit，Especially as transistors approach atomic size。At that time，Technological progress will depend on the shift to new chip architecture，Such as quantum computing。

Should we create a full virtual reality simulation world and related normative issues，Causing widespread concerns among scholars in the fields of moral and political philosophy。If everyone could create a complete universe with a personal computer，What consequences will this lead to？In the universe they created，Do these human creators become god-like characters？Should there be restrictions on the types of worlds an individual can create？Some philosophers worry，Create a moral AI stand-in，The kind that has its own interests，Can feel the harm、Avatar of pain bet365 live casino games or suffering，Could lead to some scary scenarios，These artificial intelligences may have a disastrous experience。

Same，In a fully simulated virtual reality world，We must assume that the beings within are conscious，Because it is a complete simulation of our world，And things in our world do have consciousness，Thus by assumption，Full simulation will include conscious beings。If these fully simulated virtual reality worlds weren’t a wonderful place，Then the beings inside may live in extreme pain，And its creator may not try to alleviate this pain due to ignorance or indifference。In short，A fully virtual reality simulation of our world could have dire consequences，It would be a dangerous construction project。But maybe luckily，I don’t think we have enough computing power to achieve this。

Philosophy of technology plays an important role

《Chinese Social Sciences Journal》: On the role of interdisciplinary research in advancing our understanding of human nature，What do you think？

Wald:I think，We face many interesting and important questions today，Given its complexity，It is inevitable to use interdisciplinary methods to conduct research。For example，When we think about the value of human life，One of the common views is that awareness is crucial。In this case，Consciousness refers to phenomenal consciousness，Experience、Experience、The ability to experience life。But，What is consciousness？How do we measure it？How to detect it？Can we build it？All these issues require interdisciplinary knowledge to explain，includes neuroscience、Computer Science、Psychology、Cognitive science, etc.，A comprehensive application of knowledge from these disciplines can truly explain related issues。

　"China Social Sciences Journal": In the era of artificial intelligence，What role do you think the philosophy of technology plays？

Wald:Chalmers coined the term "philosophy of technology"，This is a new philosophical field，Also raises philosophical questions about technology，Traditionally known as the philosophy of technology，Using technology to answer traditional philosophical questions。In this artificial intelligence “spring” that we have been enjoying for the past ten years，The role of technical philosophy is crucial。We are seeing a resurgence of many traditional philosophical questions about new machine learning techniques，For example，What are the limits of machine intelligence？Can machines think？Can they create？Can they be conscious？etc.。We have also observed the use of artificial intelligence to solve philosophical and ethical issues。For example，Using AI to improve equity in healthcare or resolve philosophical paradoxes and dilemmas。These undoubtedly prove the important position of technical philosophy in today's society。