I’ve heard that simulation theory goes back centuries to Descartes’ time (16th/ 17th century), possibly earlier.
A Simple Explanation of the Simulation Theory
Are we living inside a simulation?
https://medium.com/@alexignat/a-simple-explanation-of-the-simulation-theory-e96814b9a7c2
Simulation Hypothesis
The simulation hypothesis or simulation theory proposes that all of reality, including the Earth and the universe, is in fact an artificial simulation, most likely a computer simulation. Some versions rely on the development of a simulated reality, a proposed technology that would seem realistic enough to convince its inhabitants the simulation was real. The hypothesis has been a central plot device of many science fiction stories and films.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulation_hypothesis
Simulation Theory/Cartesian philosophy and the Evil Demon
(“a complete illusion of an external world”)
René Descartes
The evil demon, also known as malicious demon[1] and evil genius,[2] is a concept in Cartesian philosophy. In the first of his 1641 Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes imagines that an evil demon, of “utmost power and cunning has employed all his energies in order to deceive me.” This evil demon is imagined to present a complete illusion of an external world, so that Descartes can say, “I shall think that the sky, the air, the earth, colours, shapes, sounds and all external things are merely the delusions of dreams which he has devised to ensnare my judgement. I shall consider myself as not having hands or eyes, or flesh, or blood or senses, but as falsely believing that I have all these things.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_demon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditations_on_First_Philosophy
Book:
Meditations on First Philosophy in which the existence of God and the immortality of the soul are demonstrated (Annotated)
Kindle edition by Rene Descartes