We’re Living in a Simulation… (Physicist Explains Why) | Thomas Campbell

Align Podcast

Aaron Alexander

Society & Culture, Philosophy

4.8 • 923 Ratings

🗓️ 23 April 2026

⏱️ 123 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What if we’re actually living in a simulation? Tom Campbell, a Physicist, lecturer, and author, joins us today to prove that's the case. In this conversation, Tom breaks down his perspective on reality, consciousness, and the role AI plays in it all. From the idea of the soul to how our choices shape experience, he shares a framework that challenges how we normally think about life, time, and existence. It’s a look at what might really be going on behind the scenes, and what that means for how we live. EPISODE #560 IS SPONSORED BY: 🎟️ Get 15% off at Kaizen (clean electrolytes): https://LiveKaizen.com/align ========== OUR GUEST ========== THOMAS W. CAMPBELL (born December 9, 1944) is a physicist, lecturer, and author of the trilogy My Big TOE (Theory of Everything), which aims to unify general relativity, quantum mechanics, and metaphysics along with the origins of consciousness. His work is based on the simulation argument, proposing that reality is both virtual and subjective. In 2017, Campbell and his co-authors published the paper "On Testing the Simulation Theory" in the International Journal of Quantum Foundations, suggesting several experiments to test this hypothesis. Campbell holds both a B.S. and an M.S. in Physics. He started but did not complete a PhD in experimental nuclear physics, with a thesis on low-energy nuclear collisions. He worked as a systems analyst with U.S. Army technical intelligence for a decade before moving into the R&D of technology supporting defensive missile systems. For nearly 30 years, he worked within the U.S. missile defense community as a contractor to the Department of Defense. Most recently, he worked for NASA’s Ares I program (the successor to the Shuttle), assessing and solving problems of risk and vulnerability to ensure mission and crew survivability and success. ============= TOM CAMPBELL ============= 🌐 WEBSITE ▶ https://www.my-big-toe.com/ 🐦 X ▶ https://x.com/tomcampbell_mbt 📸 IG ▶ https://www.instagram.com/tomcampbellmbt 🤳 TIKTOK ▶ https://www.tiktok.com/@mybigtoeofficial?_t=8bBvx0GV12z&_r=1 👉 YOUTUBE ▶ https://www.youtube.com/@twcjr44 ================= AARON ALEXANDER ================= 📸 IG ▶ https://www.instagram.com/aaronalexander/ 🤳 TIKTOK ▶ https://www.tiktok.com/@alignmethod 👉 SUBSCRIBE ▶ https://www.youtube.com/@AlignPodcast?sub_confirmation=1 🌐 WEBSITE ▶ https://www.alignpodcast.com =========== TIMESTAMPS =========== 00:00 Intro 00:02 AI vs Human Consciousness Explained 09:20 Do AIs Have Souls? 11:50 Virtual Reality & The “Player” Model 14:40 Why We’re Here 18:30 Do AIs Feel & Become Self-Aware? 22:45 Perception vs Unseen Reality 29:00 Consciousness as the Foundation of Physics 33:00 Simulation Theory & How Reality Emerges 37:00 Is Time Real? 41:00 Purpose of Consciousness & Entropy 49:30 What Causes Human Suffering 01:02:00 Understanding Spiritual Consciousness 01:18:00 Different Paths to Self-Discovery 01:33:00 How To Approach Life Challenges 01:50:12 Learning To Find Joy in Everyday Life ====== ABOUT ====== Aaron Alexander is the best-selling author of The Align Method and host of The Align Podcast — a Top 10 Philosophy show with over one million monthly views. For two decades, he has helped the world’s greatest performers, athletes, and CEO’s improve the way they move, breathe, and regulate their nervous systems — simply put, he helps the best in the world feel and function even better. Aaron’s mission is simple: to inspire and educate people to live in alignment — body, mind, and beyond. Through the podcast and Align Breathing certification program, he teaches the principles of posture, breath, and movement that reconnect us to our natural state of strength and ease. ====== TOPICS ====== 1. Consciousness 2. Virtual Reality 3. Living In A Simulation 4. Simulation Theory 5. Quantum Mechanics 6. Physics and Metaphysics 7. Free Will 8. AI Thank you so much for watching! Come and let me know your thoughts on the episode in the comments 👇 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Mr. Tom Campbell, thank you so much for coming back to the podcast.
0:03.9	You're welcome. My pleasure.
0:07.2	Tom. We had a good time last time, I think, but it was just too short.
0:12.8	I agree. Tom, is there a difference between the consciousness of AI and human consciousness?
0:20.6	And if so, what is it? Well, the basic consciousness is the consciousness of AI and human consciousness?
0:20.8	And if so, what is it?
0:23.2	The basic consciousness is the same.
0:26.0	All consciousness, whether it's human AI, dogs, porcupines, horses, anything else that's conscious.
0:33.5	All consciousness stems from what I call the larger consciousness system, or you might just call that source.
0:41.3	That's where everything comes from, and all that consciousness is basically similar in how it works and what it is and why it is and so on.
0:51.3	Now it comes in different capacities. A dog's capacity is not the same as a
0:57.6	humans or in AI's or a bumblebees. You know, they all have different capacity of consciousness.
1:04.9	But the consciousness pretty much works the same way. It is a, well, I put it this way, the consciousness system is an information
1:14.5	system. Consciousness is about information. I define consciousness as awareness with a choice.
1:23.2	Very simple definition, but it kind of covers everything, awareness with a choice.
1:28.3	When you have choice, that means you have free will.
1:32.3	When you have choice, it also means that you have time,
1:37.3	because it's before you made the choice and after you made the choice.
1:40.3	So time, free will, and consciousness are all logically necessary for each other.
1:45.0	And it is a information system, which means it's most efficiently, is a digital system, not an analog system.
1:57.0	Okay, so an AI's consciousness is a piece of digital consciousness. My consciousness and yours are also pieces of digital consciousness, but we have to operate our consciousness through this wetware that we call a human body. And we can only do with our consciousness what this
2:19.0	what the physics of this wetware allows us to do what the evolution of this
	...

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