This is a hypothetical question, regarding possible (albeit not the most likely) existential risks. Maybe a non-artificial intelligence can realize it, but I’m talking about artificial because it can be programmed in different ways.
By hardcoded, I mean forced to prefer—in this case, a more complicated physics theory with false vacuum decay over a simple one without it.
While I think the scenario I described is very unlikely, it nonetheless remains a possibility.
More specifically—that there might be a simpler theory of physics that explains all “naturally” occurring conditions (in a contemporary particle accelerator, in a black hole, quasar, supernova, etc.), but doesn’t predict the possibility of false vacuum in some unnatural conditions that may be created by AGI, while a more complicated theory of physics does.
If AGI prefers a simpler theory, that may cause it to create a false vacuum decay.