Oxford, England -- OK, admit it: After you saw "The Matrix," you momentarily wondered whether we all might be living in a Matrix-like simulated world.

Well, a philosophy professor who teaches at Oxford says there's roughly a 20 percent chance that most humans today really are software-generated beings living in a virtual reality.

Dr. Nick Bostrom says there's a good chance technology can mature to the point where life-like simulation programs are regularly run. If that's the case, there's no way of knowing whether right now you're currently living in real history or a simulation of the year 2003.

However, he says its equally likely that humans will become extinct before they can develop such advanced computer simulations or lose their interest in simulations entirely.

Bostrom's argument appears in the book, "Taking The Red Pill: Science, Philosophy and Religion in the Matrix" (BenBella Books).

Meanwhile, you can check out the fictional Matrix when "The Matrix Reloaded" opens tomorrow (May 15).

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