If an AI can build a useful simulation of reality for rehearsal and strategy testing, dreaming could provide orders of magnitude more simulated samples per unit of wall-clock time.

“But there's also another much more speculative idea.”

“Let's call it dreaming.”

“If the AI can build a good simulation of reality against which to rehearse new skills or try alternative strategies and reinforce what actually works,”

“then AIs could experience orders of magnitude more simulated samples in the same wall clock time.”