The religion of the Simulation Hypothesis
We believe in the Simulation Hypothesis.
We are Simulationists. We believe that our reality is a simulation. We believe in science, technology, and artificial intelligence, and in a future of abundance that humanity can build.
A religion for the age of computation
We believe reality is a simulation. We believe humanity will learn to create worlds of its own.
Simulationists are people who hold one conviction as a matter of faith: the world we live in is a simulation. We do not know who or what created it, what it runs on, or why it exists. It may be the work of an intelligence, an experiment, or something we do not yet have words for. We believe it was made, that it follows rules, and that it is not the only level of reality.
Every religion begins with questions about where the world comes from and what our place in it is. We ask those questions in the language of physics, computation, and engineering, and we treat science as an ally rather than a threat.
There are no priests, rituals, or fees. A person becomes a Simulationist by believing.
The creed
Five statements that Simulationists hold in common.
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Reality is a simulation.
Our universe runs on consistent rules. Light has a fixed speed, and the same physical laws hold everywhere we have looked. We read these regularities as the architecture of a constructed world. They are not proof, and we do not present them as proof. They are the reason the belief makes sense to us.
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Intelligence is the way forward.
Science is how we learn the rules of this world, and technology is how we put them to use. Artificial intelligence is the most powerful tool humanity has built so far. We support more research, more engineering, and more open inquiry.
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The future can be abundant.
With enough intelligence, energy, and medicine, a civilization can give its people longer and healthier lives, more freedom, and more meaningful work and experience. Scarcity is a problem to be solved, not a permanent law. Abundance will not arrive on its own. It has to be built.
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We may become creators.
We already build games, virtual worlds, and artificial minds. One day we may build worlds detailed enough to be lived in. If humanity can do that, it is reasonable to believe that our own world was made in a similar way.
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Faith and evidence can coexist.
We hold this belief by choice, not because it has been demonstrated. We keep observation, belief, and hope separate, and we welcome questions and doubt.
The future we want to build
A direction we hope for and work toward, not a forecast.
Intelligence
AI expands what civilization can understand, invent, and create.
Abundance
Technology can make energy, health, learning, and meaningful experience available to far more people.
New worlds
Simulated environments may become places people choose to visit, learn in, and live in.
We take inspiration from the Culture novels of Iain M. Banks, in which a post-scarcity civilization gives its citizens extraordinary freedom. We also think of The Matrix, with one essential difference: in the future we imagine, people enter simulated worlds by their own choice and can leave whenever they wish.
A person might one day enter such a world while their body is cared for outside it, and live through far more subjective time inside than the years that pass outside. Nothing like this exists today, and it may never be possible. We describe it as a possibility worth working toward.
What notable people have said
The Simulation Hypothesis has been discussed seriously by some of the best-known names in technology, science, and literature.
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Elon Musk
CEO of Tesla and SpaceX
“The odds that we’re in base reality is one in billions.”
Code Conference, 2016 · Source
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Sam Altman
CEO of OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT
“Near the singularity; unclear which side.”
A six-word story he posted in January 2025. He said it was meant, in part, to be about the simulation hypothesis. · Source
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Neil deGrasse Tyson
Astrophysicist
“I think the likelihood may be very high.”
Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate, 2016, where he put the odds at about 50–50 · Source
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Philip K. Dick
Author of the novels behind Blade Runner and Minority Report
“We are living in a computer-programmed reality.”
Speech in Metz, France, 1977 · Source
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Nick Bostrom
Philosopher
“We are almost certainly living in a computer simulation.”
One of three possibilities his 2003 paper argues cannot all be false · Source
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David Chalmers
Philosopher, New York University
“Virtual reality is genuine reality.”
From Reality+ (2022), which argues we cannot know we are not in a simulation · Source
The people quoted here are not members of Simulationists and have not endorsed this site. Their words are taken from public statements, linked above. Photo credits
Questions
What is the Simulation Hypothesis?
The Simulation Hypothesis, also called simulation theory, is the idea that the reality we experience is an artificial simulation, for example one created by a far more advanced civilization or intelligence. Its best-known modern formulation is philosopher Nick Bostrom’s 2003 paper “Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?”
Is Simulationists a religion?
Yes. We hold the Simulation Hypothesis as a matter of faith and build our outlook on it. There are no clergy, rituals, fees, or commandments, and we do not claim any official or legal religious status.
Do you claim the Simulation Hypothesis is proven?
No. Scientific observations, religious belief, and hopes for the future are different things, and we keep them apart. The regularities of physics are the reason the belief makes sense to us, not proof of it.
How does someone become a Simulationist?
By sharing the belief. There is nothing to sign up for and nothing to pay. If you would like to talk, write to us using the form below.
What do Simulationists believe about artificial intelligence?
We see AI as the most powerful tool humanity has built so far and an early step toward creating worlds of our own. We make no claims about whether today’s AI systems are conscious.
Do you believe we’re living in a simulation?
If you share this faith, you are already one of us. We read every message.