• RecursiveParadox@piefed.social
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    2 days ago

    One of the Minds in Ian M Banks’ last novel, The Hydrogen Sonata, faces and addresses exactly this problem. Much is at stake, so it’s a meaningful discussion.

    • Dadifer@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      You may be referring to the hells, but he had a discussion about having a Mind simulating a particular situation to the point where the participants were basically sentient. In that instance, I do not think it is ethical to end the simulation, but I think it would be ethical to freeze the simulation. If the whole simulation was paused and stored with the potential to be restarted, then no perceivable harm would come to the participants.