Commonwealth Club Event: "The Simulation Hypothesis"

Join the Commonwealth Club of California on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025 to hear Rizwan Virk discuss his new book, The Simulation Hypothesis: An MIT Computer Scientist Shows Why AI, Quantum Physics, and Eastern Mystics All Agree We Are in a Video Game.

HOW TO WATCH:
This event is $10 for online tickets, and you must register at the link below, at which point you'll be emailed a link to the online event - https://commonwealthclub.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/#/instances/a0FVb000006Vc0jMAC

NOTE: This event is free for members of the Commonwealth Club of California. Membership costs just $10/month and you can cancel at any time. To become a member, go to: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/membership

EVENT DESCRIPTION:
Are we living in the Matrix?

Rizwan Virk is a leading authority on simulation theory, and he says the evolution of our video games, including virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing, will lead us to a technological singularity. We will reach the simulation point, he argues, where we can develop all-encompassing virtual worlds like the OASIS in Ready Player One or The Matrix—and in fact we are already likely inside such a simulation.

Though that sounds like science fiction, many scientists, engineers, and professors have given the simulation hypothesis serious consideration, including Elon Musk, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Nick Bostrom. But philosophers of many traditions have long contended that we are living in some kind of “illusion” and that there are other realities that we can access with our minds.

Virk's work in Silicon Valley as a video game designer caused him to wonder where our technology would take us and how long it would take us to create something like the world of The Matrix—and why he’s now 70 percent certain that we’re already inside a simulation.

Whether you are a computer scientist, a fan of science fiction like the Matrix movies, a video game enthusiast, a spiritual seeker, or simply a fan of mind-bending thought experiments, come hear Virk for yourself and you might never look at the world the same way again.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

• Rizwan Virk is an MIT computer scientist, leading video game pioneer, entrepreneur, film producer, venture capitalist, professor, and a founder of Play Labs at MIT.
• Dean Takahashi, the moderator, is the business journalist and author specialized in the tech and video game industries, best known as the Editorial Director for GamesBeat.

ABOUT THE EVENT HOST:
The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. Every year, they present more than 450 forums on topics ranging across politics, culture, society and the economy. Their stated mission is to be the leading national forum open to all for the impartial discussion of public issues important to the membership, community and nation. To learn more, go to: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/who-we-are
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