This is not exactly a new hypothesis, though Tyson is too rigidly programmed to think of the classic answer.
Tyson points out that we humans have always defined ourselves as the smartest beings alive.
Not true. See above. The idea that humans are the smartest things in the universe is a peculiarly modern delusion, probably rooted in having too many tenured faculty members around.
"And if that's the case, it is easy for me to imagine that everything in our lives is just the creation of some other entity for their entertainment," Tyson says.
Most people who have considered the subject think that God had some purpose in mind other than entertainment.
The idea that our universe may be considered, for lack of a more adequate terminology, as a thought experiment in the mind of God is an old one. It answers a number of puzzles. If Tyson were not locked in his dogmatic box, he would recognize that he is stumbling around a well-rehearsed question. Of course, I'm sure he would prefer to believe in a race of incomprehensibly intelligent aliens as opposed to a creator God. He might want to pause and reflect on why he would prefer to consider himself a plaything as opposed to an infinitely valued creation.
Or, as has already been said, there is nothing new under the sun.