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You’re likely familiar with the concept of mankind as we know it actually living inside of an advanced simulation from the classic 1999 film The Matrix. The hypothesis has only developed since then and is now officially known as the Simulation Theory.
The Simulation Theory took new shape in 2003 (which was, ironically, the year The Matrix sequels were released) when philosopher Nick Bostrom proposed the “simulation argument.”
What makes the simulation argument so compelling is that it’s built on a trilemma, which means one of the following three things MUST be true:
1. Either such simulations are not created because of technological limitations or self-destruction.
2. Advanced civilizations choose not to create them.
3. If advanced civilizations do create them, the number of simulations would far exceed base reality, and we would therefore almost certainly be living in one.
People messing around with ChatGPT’s new “Astra” model are experimenting with the simulation theory
As AI continues to advance, the simulation theory becomes increasingly relevant, especially following the release of ChatGPT’s new Astra model, which has led to experiments that suggest the answer to the simulation argument may be #3: we *are* actually living in one.
One ChatGPT user named Matt Shumer created a simulation and then put a simulation-creating computer inside the world. Eventually, an agent in Shumer’s simulation used the in-world computer to create its own sub-simulation.
So uh, simulation theory might be real.
I dropped a sim computer into the simulation my Astra agents live in. One agent sat down and built a simulation of his own, with its own agents living inside.
Simulations all the way down. https://t.co/MfIxsWbfCA pic.twitter.com/W4sYLvAaeD
— Matt Shumer (@mattshumer_) September 5, 2026
Timelapse of the Astra agent building the simulation inside the simulation: https://t.co/1I1UQSFreQ pic.twitter.com/flLu3onlaL
— Matt Shumer (@mattshumer_) September 5, 2026
Another person — posting anonymously using the name of the lead character from Ready Player One (a bit ironic, to say the least) — also built a simulation and gave one of his agents a cell phone. When he “texted” that phone, the agent had to literally go inside its house and retrieve its phone to respond.
I texted someone inside a simulation.
She had to go upstairs and find her phone before she could text me back.
The video model didn’t decide what happened.
This is Argos, my stateful simulation engine, rendered through H3 using Fal Director. Thanks to @fal for the generous… pic.twitter.com/WXEQPfXYjP
— Parzival – ∞/89 (@whyarethis) September 4, 2026
This type of technology has only been around for a few years. It’s slightly horrifying to think where it may go from here.