Stephen Hawking’s chilling warning as AI, engineered viruses and nuclear warfare threaten human survival
Before his death in 2018, Stephen Hawking warned that the future of humankind is under threat from artificial intelligence (AI), genetically engineered viruses and nuclear warfare
Before his death in 2018, Stephen Hawking delivered a stark warning about the future of mankind, saying that artificial intelligence (AI), genetically engineered viruses and nuclear warfare were the greatest threats we face.
As we hurtle forward with technological advances, Hawking cautioned that we are creating “new ways things can go wrong”.
With progress leaving us more vulnerable than ever to man-made disasters, he argued that we are dangerously unprepared to escape Earth should catastrophe strike.
The world-renowned physicist said: “Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it adds up over time, and becomes a near certainty in the next thousand or ten thousand years.”
He continued: “By that time we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race.
“However, we will not establish self-sustaining colonies in space for at least the next hundred years, so we have to be very careful in this period.”
He did however say that humans have a tendency to “save the day” just in the nick of time, and encouraged his fellow scientists to persist in making advances in their respective fields.
The professor stated: “We are not going to stop making progress, or reverse it, so we have to recognize the dangers and control them. I’m an optimist, and I believe we can.
“It’s important to ensure that these changes are heading in the right directions.”
These comments from Hawking came as he said Terminator -style killer robots could potentially wipe out humanity following advancements in “autonomous weapons.”
Hawking was one of over 1,000 leading scientists and businessmen who signed an open letter from the Future of Life Institute. The letter said that an AI arms race was “virtually inevitable” and “would not be beneficial for humanity”.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.
