Virtual omnipotence is a term typically used to describe the quality of being virtually capable of anything (e.g. being capable of creating a virtual representation of anything an omnipotent being could do). This blog post will explore the possibility of having power over virtual reality that is both indistinguishable from and equivalent to absolute omnipotence. By absolute omnipotence, I mean being capable of both everything that is possible and everything that is impossible. A virtually omnipotent being may be capable of creating a virtual equivalence of anything, within a simulated reality.


Technology is predicted to allow the creation of highly detailed virtual environments, full immersion virtual reality, whole brain emulation and mind uploading. This means that eventually simulated universes which will seem as real as ours will be possible and will contain virtual minds, including the minds of people from our universe, uploaded into these virtual ones.


A user would have full control over every facet of the virtual universe and the minds that occupy it. The user could choose for something to happen, such as a simulated potted plant to manifest, and that thing would happen. They could also choose for more than one thing to exist in the same place at the same time, in the simulation, and their choice will happen. They could make any brains in the simulation perceive that a specific outcome has occurred. For example, it could seem, to a brain, that two objects and two objects, when coming together, are five objects (instead of four), and that this outcome is logically consistent. This brain would be having their perception and reasoning altered. The brain might alternatively perceive two objects and two objects coming together as being a fish and that this outcome is logically consistent or that two plus two coming together being four objects is logically inconsistent. Logically impossible things, like reality warping, could be simulated.


Any tests performed within this virtual reality could be made to return false results. For example, tests for the ability to reality warp could be forced to return that the result that the ability to reality warp has been demonstrated. Also, any tests for omnipotence, in the simulation, could simply be forced to return true, and any tests for test rigging could also be forced to return true.

A virtually omnipotent being could control brains’ experiences and reasoning by manipulating their neural connections. They could make it seem, to the brains, like any statement or concept is true or false. Thus, they could simulate anything, including logically impossible things like square circles.

To simulate something is to mimic its appearance or function. The functions of a statement or concept being true could include making it appear as if it is true or being registered as being true. A hypothetical scenario in which these would be the functions are if logically impossible things happened which were witnessed by people and reality registered all that was true, and was immune to any prevention of this registering. A functionally equivalent scenario could occur where a robust representation of reality was run in a computer that registered every event that occurred within the simulation ad contained artificial minds that witnessed the virtually logically impossible occurring.

The virtually logically impossible is the simulated logically impossible.  It is functionally equivalent to the logically impossible in that it appears to be the logically impossible, is registered as the logically impossible and serves practical purposes of the logically impossible. When it seems like, to someone, they are looking at a square circle, and they don’t distinguish whether they are looking at a real square circle or not, they might as well be looking at a real square circle.

Anything can be broken down into categories. For example, the impossible can be broken up into categories including the category of logically impossible shapes, which can be broken up further into categories that include a square circle. Categories of simulations for everything could theoretically be made, including miscellaneous categories for categories of things that are otherwise not specified. For example, miscellaneous logically impossible shapes and a category for those which are neither possible nor impossible.

For those for which the real world result is not known, (i.e. what happens when x event occurs) a result can be made up by the computer and be simulated as being the real result. You don’t need to know exactly what would happen if the thing being represented happened when you can make it seem like (and be registered by the computer that) your simulation of the thing, event or other is accurate, no matter how inaccurate it is.

In a simulation, no matter how powerful something is simulated as, nothing inside the simulation can interfere with the workings of the simulating machine, as this is not an action that is programmed to be performed by the simulating machine. Any effect on the machine or user must be permitted by the simulating machine, as it may otherwise simply not function in the way desired by occupants of the simulation. This renders all occupants of the simulation unable to defeat or overpower any occupants that the simulating machine does not allow. Think "How will this computer game character conquer anything outside of the game when it doesn't have access to any external files or a physical body?"


If someone has a goal for which virtual omnipotence wasn't sufficient, they could have that goal changed to an equivalent one, by themselves or another person, like for the previous goal to seem achieved.


It could seem like a feeling's strength is within any category or of any nature, including infinite. The feeling itself is an experience. When you feel pleasant, you perceive the feeling pleasure and an amount of it. This perception itself may be viewed as pleasure.Your brain might perceive a bit of pleasure, a lot of pleasure or, might be made to perceive, infinite pleasure. As this is a perception, it might be able to be any value, like typing infinity in a box labelled: amount of pleasure. The amount of pleasure experienced might not be determined by a quantity of something within the brain, but the quantity perceived by the brain. Keep in mind that this or any other perception doesn't have to be acknowledged by the rest of the mind or stored in or recalled (when it is stored) from memory.


The user could control how moral conditions are in the context of their virtual universe, even if they can't control all the conditions outside their universe. This can be viewed as equivalent to controlling how moral the conditions are in everywhere and everything, if the virtual universe is all the user has a goal to control the morality of.


The user could create enormous numbers of copies of the brains of everyone in the simulation, perhaps outside of the initial CPU cycle (or simulation tick) to allow for more to be simulated (other than copies of brains) in the same CPU cycle. They could then reduce the copies for a brain to make it less likely to be a copy of that brain (experiencing that situation) or increase it to make it more likely to be a copy of that brain. They could, for example, make it almost certain that you will be in a certain situation, even though there's a copy of your brain that won't be or make it almost certain that you won't be in a certain situation even though there's a copy of your brain that will be. They can then force machines and brains to calculate and perceive the odds in ways that they would if the user was truly omnipotent.


Everything in the simulation can be recorded by a computer, and (with brain enhancement) can be known by the user. The user can know everything about the simulation machines and the illusion can be created that they know everything outside of the universe and about every possibility and impossibility as well, hence making them appear truly omniscient.


Neural networks and other structures in brains can be monitored and prevented from trying or desiring to do or have anything they can't. They can also anticipate an attempt or desire and make a brain inclined to choose or desire an equivalent thing, like the indistinguishable (except maybe to the user or anyone else who is allowed to distinguish it) illusion of the thing they might otherwise attempt or desire to do or have.


Complexity needn't be an issue. The user could simply create a simpler representation of something that is more complex, also known as a model. The user could instruct the computer, for example, to make it appear as if a tree is more detailed than they can create and the computer would simulate that complexity by making the tree indistinguishable from that complex to observers, by altering their perception to make it seem that complex and forcing the results of tests to indicate that the tree is that complex.

A virtually omnipotent being could make it so that anyone within their simulation does not perceive, want, try to do or have a purpose for a real version of things, but instead everything they conceive of would refer to something which is like the real version (i.e. a simulation of it). Since any statement or concept being true can be simulated, the virtually omnipotent being would be able to do anything that anyone in their simulation would ever conceive of, desire, try or even conceive of trying to do or have any purpose for.