Experience Machine
Perhaps one of the more famous responses to hedonistic arguments is the experience machine thought experiment. For those unfamiliar, the experience machine is a philosophical device that creates ultimate pleasant experiences. The dilemma is simple: whether or not you would like to subject yourself to the experience machine. For most people, the answer is no. And yet, I would argue that everyone acts in a way that maximizes the perceived utility of their experiences. So, am I wrong? Do people want more than just to make their experiences as good as possible? Is there something inherently good about this life, the “real” life?
To answer these questions, let’s first establish what people imagine when we discuss the experience machine thought experiment. People probably imagine physical pleasure, perhaps a high-quality, high-status life, with a lot of friends or something of the sort. But the other thing is that they also imagine remembering their old life and being aware that the new life is something artificial, not real. If we use the Phenoutilistic terms, the pleasure and status constitute the high-utility parts of experiences, while awareness of the falseness of these experiences constitutes the low-utility parts of experiences. If we consider this fact, it becomes clear for whom it would be desirable to enter the experience machine and for whom it would not be.
If a person believes that there is an inherent worth to the current life, to “real” life and the “real” experiences, then they would not subject themselves to the experience machine. On the other hand, if the pleasure of experiences is more important to them than these experiences being “real”, then they would enter the experience machine. If you think that absolutely nobody would subject themselves to the experience machine, I can give you a real-life counter-example. It is true that the technology that prods your brain in a way to generate endless pleasurable experiences is not yet publicly accessible, but we have drugs. And clearly, there are people who not just get addicted to them, but people who willingly try them for the first time, while knowing of the side effects.
And yet, I still believe that the experience machine is something that everybody would be happy being subject to, not just those who seek physical pleasure. The key phrase is “being subject to”. That, in contrast with “choosing to be subject to”. What I mean is that if I forcefully put you into the experience machine that generates the best possible experience, that machine would probably generate experiences such that you either forget that you were forced into an experience machine or that it tricks you into believing that the attempt to force you into it failed. But it will keep generating amazing experiences nonetheless. It is true that a lot of people will not like being actively subjected to the experience machine and will decline it if given the free choice to participate, but all people will be happy while in it.
To see that this is the case, consider two trivial thought experiments. First, would you like to be able to honestly achieve everything you wish for in real life, by normal means, perhaps luck is finally on your side, or your hard work pays off? Nothing supernatural, perhaps you suddenly get a promotion or win the lottery or get reunited with a long lost friend, maybe your favorite sports team starts winning almost all of their matches, or your preferred political party starts winning and enacting policies you always wished it would. I would say that almost all people would indeed want to see these things come about, especially if they happen naturally.
Now, suppose, after months or years of unbelievable success, you suddenly wake up and there are doctors hunched over you telling you that this was all a part of the experience machine, and not just the last few months, but your entire life. Your friends, your family, all your achievements and failures, all the experiences you have ever had were generated by the experience machine. The actual real world is a hellscape where everyone is suffering from hunger, discomfort; it’s just the worst misery for everyone, as some philosophers would say. Now, the doctors offer you a way back; they will erase your memories of waking up, and you will continue living as normal until your natural death. We have essentially almost completely erased the negative utility gained from the awareness that you live in a simulation. Now, remember that the actual experience machine is exactly like that, except your simulated experiences are just pure bliss with no suffering (unless you want suffering, for some reason).
Practically, drugs are already a partial experience machine for those who don’t care about the authenticity of their experiences, and I am for destigmatization of drugs for that reason, but more importantly, if my dream of an AI-driven paradise is realized, a part of it will be these experience machines. In reality, the human brain is a lot less complex in this regard, and we can instead use “bliss machines”. Instead of generating the best experiences, these would generate chemicals that would make us think we are having blissful experiences. This might sound dystopian to you, but it won’t be for people in the bliss machines.
