The Future of Scientific Simulations: from Artificial Life to Artificial Cosmogenesis

We argue that a simulation of an entire universe will result from future scientific activity. This requires us to tackle the challenge of simulating open-ended evolution at all levels in a single simulation. The simulation should encompass not only biological evolution, but also physical evolution (a level below) and cultural evolution (a level above). The simulation would allow us to probe what would happen if we would “replay the tape of the universe” with the same or different laws and initial conditions. We also distinguish between real-world and artificial-world modelling. Assuming that intelligent life could indeed simulate an entire universe, this leads to two tentative hypotheses. Some authors have argued that we may already be in a simulation run by an intelligent entity. Or, if such a simulation could be made real, this would lead to the production of a new universe.

 The Future of Scientific Simulations

Scientific American: The Case for Parallel Universes

The Case for Parallel Universes

 "Multiverse proponents Alexander Vilenkin and Max Tegmark offer counterpoints [to previous criticisms of multiverse theory], explaining why the multiverse would account for so many features of our universe—and how it might be tested."

 

Scientific American: How a plan for a faster than light communication device led to a breakthrough in understanding quantum mechanics

Scientific American has an interesting blog post on Nick Herbert's attempt to create a faster than light communication device several decades ago that led to the discovery of the "no-cloning theorem": which states an arbitrary or unknown quantum state cannot be copied without disturbing the original state. 

The Faster-Than-Light Telegraph That Wasn't

 

Space elevator

Brian Greene: Welcome to the Multiverse

Brian Greene has an article in Newsweek about the possibility of a multiverse.

   Welcome to the Multiverse

The Multiverse Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics

Raphael Bousso and Leonard Susskind argue that the many-worlds of quantum mechanics and the many worlds of the multiverse are the same thing.

We argue that the global multiverse is a representation of the many-worlds (all possible decoherent causal diamond histories) in a single geometry. We propose that it must be possible in principle to verify quantum-mechanical predictionsexactly. This requires not only the existence of exact observables but two additional postulates: a single observer within the universe can access in nitely many identical experiments; and the outcome of each experiment must be completely de nite. In causal diamonds with nite surface area, holographic entropy bounds imply that no exact observables exist, and both postulates fail: experiments cannot be repeated in- nitely many times; and decoherence is not completely irreversible, so outcomes are not de nite. We argue that our postulates can be satis ed in \hats" (supersymmetric multiverse regions with vanishing cosmological constant). We propose a complementarity principle that relates the approximate observables associated with nite causal diamonds to exact observables in the hat.

 The Multiverse Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics

Lack of evidence of dark matter in solar neighborhood may indicate dark matter theories are wrong

A new study of the motions of stars in the Milky Way has found no evidence for dark matter in a large volume around the Sun.

This is kurzweilai.net's article on the findings:

Serious Blow to Dark Matter Theories?

Physics Top 100 Discoveries

via ScienceDump:

A disappearing physicist, and a discovery that may lead to understanding dark matter and a real quantum computer

Kurzweilai.net has an article on the possible recent discovery of “Majorana fermions” — particles that "would be right on the border between matter and antimatter."

Some theories even suggest that these particles may ultimately provide the explanation for Dark Matter. Also, the article suggests that "Majorana fermions could be fundamental building blocks for a future quantum computer that would be exceptionally stable and barely sensitive to external influences. This would avoid the central problem with all current quantum computers: the dreaded decoherence."

The Kurzweilai.net article is based on this paper published last week in Science Express.

This video summarizes the experiment leading to the discovery:

Artificial Intelligence Could Be on Brink of Passing Turing Test

Wired.com has a post summarizing an article in Science which suggests recent advances in information technology could have us on the brink of strong AI capable of passing a Turing test. This means that if you had a conversation with the computer program you would not be able to distinguish whether you were talking to a program or real person. Kurzweil has predicted the first AI capable of passing the Turing test sometime in the latter part of the next decade.

“Two revolutionary advances in information technology may bring the Turing test out of retirement,” wrote Robert French, a cognitive scientist at the French National Center for Scientific Research, in an Apr. 12 Science essay. “The first is the ready availability of vast amounts of raw data — from video feeds to complete sound environments, and from casual conversations to technical documents on every conceivable subject. The second is the advent of sophisticated techniques for collecting, organizing, and processing this rich collection of data.”