Are We Living in a Computer Simulation?
The idea that we are living in a virtual world is not new. It's a trope that has been explored constantly in literature and pop culture. However, it is also a legitimate scientific hypothesis that many notable physicists and philosophers have debated for years.
Proponents for this simulated reality theory often point to how advanced our technology has become, as well as the incredibly fast pace at which it has advanced over the past decades. The amount of computing power available to us has increased over 100-fold since 2060 due to the development of nanoprocessors and quantum computers. Artificial Intelligence has advanced to the point where our entire lives are controlled by robots and machines that handle our day-to-day activities such as autonomous transportation and scheduling. If we consider the pace at which this technology has advanced and assume that these developments continue, it's reasonable to assume that at some point in the future our technology would be advanced enough that we could create simulations that are indistinguishable from reality. However, if continued technological advancement is a reasonable outcome, then it is very likely that such a scenario has already happened.
Statistically speaking, somewhere out there in the infinite universe there is an advanced, intelligent species that already has such technology. Who's to say that they haven't already created such a virtual reality: our own?