Experiences are real, so different third person descriptions of experiences are as valid as different third person descriptions of reality. Decoding fundamental reality as simulations of agents is only constrained by specific preferences for binding between language of simulation and fundamental reality. So it depends: if you only care about fundamental reality, then only real non-simulated universe experience things, because even division to agents is arbitrary. If you care about simulations potentially recognized by someone simulating them, then you probably can construct some argument for upper bound for simulated agents using dimensionality of physics. But ultimately it all depends on preferences, so in a sense all possible interpretations of reality as agents are valid.
There is no fundamental difference. Stack is producing conscious experiences and time could be felt by the people represented in the pages and could be even felt by people represented as something dependent on a stack contents if there are appropriate differential laws describing stack’s content.
Experiences are real, so different third person descriptions of experiences are as valid as different third person descriptions of reality. Decoding fundamental reality as simulations of agents is only constrained by specific preferences for binding between language of simulation and fundamental reality. So it depends: if you only care about fundamental reality, then only real non-simulated universe experience things, because even division to agents is arbitrary. If you care about simulations potentially recognized by someone simulating them, then you probably can construct some argument for upper bound for simulated agents using dimensionality of physics. But ultimately it all depends on preferences, so in a sense all possible interpretations of reality as agents are valid.
There is no fundamental difference. Stack is producing conscious experiences and time could be felt by the people represented in the pages and could be even felt by people represented as something dependent on a stack contents if there are appropriate differential laws describing stack’s content.