I think the last part is the problem with this argument. We can already simulate worlds (Minecraft), they're just very different from our own. It has to be possible to actually simulate our universe. Not just theoretically, but also practically: Someone needs to have enough energy, time, engineering ability, other resources, and enough motivation¹ to run the simulation.
Also, if you permit me to get spiritual for a moment, I believe that it could be theoretically possible to simulate any fully materialist universe, but I'm not convinced consciousness can arise from doing maths. Since I am conscious, this universe must not be simulated, no matter how many simulated worlds actually exist.
[1] I'm assuming that most creatures intelligent enough to understand the concept of simulating a universe will want to try it. But if it takes an entire civilization to do so and that civilization has to choose between, say, spending the energy on simulation running or on food production, it's pretty clear what will happen.
I agree with the uniqueness of consciousness. Obviously no entity poofs into existence imagining itself adding two numbers when I execute that operation, and I don't think this changes whether one carries out 1, 10, or 2^1000 operations.
However that doesn't preclude 'my' version of the simulation hypothesis. Imagine you were in a full body VR sim from the moment of birth, that artificial reality would likely simply be reality to you, yet your consciousness would remain. So all that's fundamentally required is some tech to temporarily block all past memories before entering the sim.
Yes, I suppose that would actually be a way around the consciousness problem. I really like the memory blocker idea—if we assume that it's not 100% accurate and one or two memories can still bleed through, that would be a third explanation for (claimed) past-life memories, beyond reincarnation or them being made up. They're just memories of a previous simulation or real life, not filtered by the blocker.
Sounds like an interesting concept for a story, if nothing else.
Also, if you permit me to get spiritual for a moment, I believe that it could be theoretically possible to simulate any fully materialist universe, but I'm not convinced consciousness can arise from doing maths. Since I am conscious, this universe must not be simulated, no matter how many simulated worlds actually exist.
[1] I'm assuming that most creatures intelligent enough to understand the concept of simulating a universe will want to try it. But if it takes an entire civilization to do so and that civilization has to choose between, say, spending the energy on simulation running or on food production, it's pretty clear what will happen.