25 years after the Matrix: Simulation theory more relevant than ever

Regardless of The Matrix, Nick Bostrom, Elon Musk, or the peculiarities of quantum physics, we might still be living in "base reality."

It’s 25 years of Keanu Reeves starrer The Matrix, where Neo, the protagonist, lives in the year 2199 and, more significantly, in a simulated world that is a fake-out version of the late 20th century, created by 21st-century artificial intelligence (AI) to enslave humanity. The film popularised the notion that we are all actually lying in fluid pods, acting as feedstock for machines, and that reality is an illusion. The concept is as old as Plato’s Republic and as modern as Elon Musk’s Twitter feed.

 

For many years, sci-fi has emphasised topics like computer gaming, virtual reality, and AI. For