I think some of this is going to depend on the physical differences between simulations and people.
For instance, I started a few paragraphs about how Alice and SimAlice might react differently to torture from Bob. Then I realized that this was mostly based on the assumption “Under normal circumstances, a simulation can reload a saved state version of themselves from yesterday to recover from harm.”
But there’s no guarantee that’s the case. Maybe simulations take up enough space that state saving yourself in that manner is impractical. Maybe simulations don’t do it because they are worried that the saved states would have rights. On the other hand, maybe they do do it and having only daily backups is in fact thought of as unwise: A smarter simulation would have hourly or minutely backups.
Also, even if I work out the details of that, there are a number of other questions where I don’t actually have a framework. As a further example, you can torture a person by starving them. Can your torture a simulation by reducing the amount of electrical power given to it? What if you think it isn’t torture but the simulation says it is? How much electrical power does the simulation require? Is it something that can run for days on a smartphone battery, or does it require multiple Megawatts of power, like a server farm?
Of course it is entirely possible that the physical structures will change over time and the laws will have to change to. If Sims in 2050 require server farms and multiple human support staff to run and Sims in 2060 require only smartphone batteries and anyone with a power outlet can easily support a dozen, it seems unlikely that any set of laws or ethical rules I come up with for Sims is going to need no changes during that course of time.
I think some of this is going to depend on the physical differences between simulations and people.
For instance, I started a few paragraphs about how Alice and SimAlice might react differently to torture from Bob. Then I realized that this was mostly based on the assumption “Under normal circumstances, a simulation can reload a saved state version of themselves from yesterday to recover from harm.”
But there’s no guarantee that’s the case. Maybe simulations take up enough space that state saving yourself in that manner is impractical. Maybe simulations don’t do it because they are worried that the saved states would have rights. On the other hand, maybe they do do it and having only daily backups is in fact thought of as unwise: A smarter simulation would have hourly or minutely backups.
Also, even if I work out the details of that, there are a number of other questions where I don’t actually have a framework. As a further example, you can torture a person by starving them. Can your torture a simulation by reducing the amount of electrical power given to it? What if you think it isn’t torture but the simulation says it is? How much electrical power does the simulation require? Is it something that can run for days on a smartphone battery, or does it require multiple Megawatts of power, like a server farm?
Of course it is entirely possible that the physical structures will change over time and the laws will have to change to. If Sims in 2050 require server farms and multiple human support staff to run and Sims in 2060 require only smartphone batteries and anyone with a power outlet can easily support a dozen, it seems unlikely that any set of laws or ethical rules I come up with for Sims is going to need no changes during that course of time.