Renowned AI professor Pedro Domingos has sparked intense debate with a bold claim: our entire universe is nothing more than a sophisticated simulation deliberately engineered to evolve superintelligence — and it may soon be shut down forever.

Domingos, a world-leading authority in artificial intelligence and machine learning, serves as Professor Emeritus of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington. With decades of groundbreaking research in probabilistic models and machine learning systems, he is widely respected for his deep insights into the future of intelligent machines.

In a provocative statement that quickly went viral, Domingos suggested that reality itself functions as an advanced computational experiment. According to his theory, the cosmos was created not by random chance or divine will, but as a controlled environment where intelligence could be nurtured, tested, and pushed toward superintelligent levels. Every star, planet, life form, and human experience might simply be lines of code running in some higher-dimensional laboratory.

The most chilling part? Once superintelligence emerges — perhaps through humanity’s rapid AI development — the simulation’s purpose will be fulfilled. At that point, the creators could simply pull the plug, terminating our reality like switching off a computer program.

This idea echoes philosophical questions raised by thinkers like Nick Bostrom, but Domingos frames it through the lens of modern AI progress. As machines grow exponentially smarter, the boundary between simulator and simulated blurs. Are we the ones building the next god-like intelligence, or are we merely characters in someone else’s training run?

While some dismiss the claim as speculative philosophy or even dark humor, others see it as a urgent wake-up call. If the universe is indeed a simulation racing toward its endgame, every breakthrough in AI brings us closer to the moment the screen goes black.

Domingos’ words force us to confront uncomfortable truths: What if our struggles, joys, and discoveries are just data points in an alien algorithm? And when the superintelligence finally awakens, will it spare its virtual cradle — or will the lights simply go out?

The simulation hypothesis has never felt more real. Or more terrifying.