In this blog post, I’ll reflect on the choice between virtual reality and reality after watching the movie ‘The Matrix’ (1999).
The world of ‘The Matrix’ is truly fascinating. Starting from the imagination of what would happen if artificial intelligence—capable of creative computation rather than merely performing pre-programmed tasks—were to emerge, the film depicts a scenario where machine civilization develops, wages war against humanity, takes over Earth, and ultimately controls humans. In this virtual reality, humans live in a world composed solely of signals and stimuli, unaware of what the truth is. When Morpheus comes to those living in oblivion of reality and offers them the red pill (reality) and the blue pill (virtual reality), which would you choose?
I believe a premise is necessary before making a choice. You cannot know what the real world you’ll return to after taking the red pill will look like until you take it, and it may not necessarily be exactly like the reality depicted in the movie. In The Matrix, reality is a dark scenario where machines control humans as a source of energy, and free humans wage war against the machines centered around “Zion.” If you knew before making your choice that reality is nothing but a dangerous world where humans are hunted down under machine domination, who would willingly choose the red pill? Most people would likely fall into one of two categories: a select few like Neo, chosen and burning with a sense of mission, or, conversely, people like Cypher who want to settle for the sensations of the virtual world. Therefore, the decision must be made on the premise that we cannot know what reality will be like after taking the red pill.
If I had to make an unavoidable choice, I would take the red pill, escape the virtual world, and step into the “real” world. The virtual world is, quite literally, an artificially created space. Whether that world was created by humans or by machines to dominate us, it is a fabricated world where developers have arbitrarily implemented things that cannot be done in reality—either making them resemble reality or making them completely different. Remaining within it is like continuing to dream without ever waking up. In a virtual reality like The Matrix, when immersed in sweet stimuli, truth vanishes, and the body and mind are controlled by external factors—sensations converted into electrical signals.
I believe that the reason humans were able to distinguish themselves from other animals and plants and build civilization is precisely because of free will and creative thinking. Civilization was built through the continuous sequence of each person’s unique way of thinking and the choices and decisions made through free will. We think freely and act according to our will at every moment. This is the reason humans exist in the real world. In contrast, such free will cannot exist in virtual reality. The thoughts and senses of each connected individual are controlled, and their actions are determined by pre-coded algorithms. Even if one feels they are thinking and acting of their own free will within the virtual world, that perception itself may have been manipulated multiple times by external control programs. Can we truly call these beings in virtual reality “human”? This is the context in which Agent Smith in the movie described the Matrix world as a “zoo.”
I believe there is no such thing as a perfect virtual reality. Because unexpected variables exist, perfect control is impossible, and since we never know when or where those variables will arise, there must always be an entity to monitor them. These monitors eliminate factors that cause problems in order to maintain the virtual world’s system. They do so by moving freely into any entity within the virtual reality—much like Agent Smith in The Matrix—to restore control. Consider the instance where Agent Smith enters a person’s body due to an unexpected variable. That person is likely a typical individual who has taken the blue pill and wishes to enjoy only life within the virtual world. Within the controlled system, he lives his life taking it for granted, but he can be sacrificed to maintain the system regardless of his own will—without even realizing that he is being sacrificed. The fact that a perfect virtual world does not exist is revealed in the film by the first attempt at the Matrix, which was designed to provide only pleasure but was ultimately rejected, resulting in the deaths of all participants. This implies that a world where humans are given only pleasure cannot be sustained. Therefore, the reconstructed virtual world likely includes not only pleasure but also negative emotions such as pain and sorrow. In other words, the virtual world comes to share similarities with reality.
Some might argue that virtual reality allows people to derive pleasure from new stimuli that cannot be experienced in reality. However, this requires a crucial premise: the ability to return to reality. Experiences available only in the virtual world—as opposed to reality—are certainly beneficial and worth encouraging. For example, just as a flight simulator allows one to indirectly practice piloting in a manner similar to the real thing. But the situation changes when one lives in that virtual world without even realizing that one is living in a simulation. What meaning could such an indirect experience have? What is the point of living without knowing whether the information obtained from an incomplete world is true or false? Remaining in a world where there is no guarantee of joy or happiness—within a system divorced from reality—is nothing more than a foolish escape.
I view human life as essence itself. Essence is not a visible phenomenon but an unchanging, inherent quality. Living within the Matrix, ignoring the human reality that lies beyond, and choosing sensory perceptions created by electrical signals is to abandon the reality that is the very foundation of “my” existence. Therefore, choosing the virtual world at the moment of decision is an act of abandoning the very existence that constitutes and expresses the “me” of the present.
The question of whether to choose virtual reality or actual reality is bound to be interpreted differently depending on the life circumstances of the person being asked. The choice will vary depending on those circumstances. If one is sufficiently satisfied with their current life—even if that life exists within virtual reality—they will likely settle into it, content with the satisfaction provided by the program; if dissatisfied, they are highly likely to choose a different life. To put it tragically, it is like committing suicide. Although committing suicide does not guarantee that one will obtain a different life. The crucial point here is whether or not one understands the nature of the real world at that moment. If one understands that nature, the choice must be consistent with the argument I made earlier.
