<h2>Hawking Claims</h2>
Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking passed away earlier this year, but his final book, &#8220;Brief Answers to the Big Questions,&#8221; only <a href="https://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/a23888652/stephen-hawking-says-no-god-new-book/">came out this week</a>.
In it, Hawking makes a number of bold claims about the future of gene editing, artificial intelligence, and even religion. Here&#8217;s how experts evaluate his predictions.
<h2>Superhuman Overlords</h2>
Hawking raised eyebrows <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/16/stephen-hawking-feared-a-rich-superhuman-species-will-end-humanity.html">when he claimed</a> that powerful people will hack their genes to become smarter, stronger, and longer-lived. Eventually, he writes in his new book, the rest of us will &#8220;die out, or become unimportant.&#8221;
Many geneticists already see this as inevitable. Some <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/d7yzmm/geneticists-are-concerned-transhumanists-will-use-crispr-on-themselves">fear that people will use CRISPR</a> to edit their genes before the technology is deemed safe, so they advocate new laws to protect non-augmented humans.
&#8220;We&#8217;re probably going to need new international oversight structures, so that we don&#8217;t realize these dystopian &#8216;Brave New World&#8217; examples,&#8221; <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/d7yzmm/geneticists-are-concerned-transhumanists-will-use-crispr-on-themselves">said George Daley</a>, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, at the International Summit on Human Genome Editing in 2015.
<h2>Killer AI</h2>
During his lifetime, Hawking was vocal about his fear of powerful AI. He reiterates his reservations in this book, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-hawking-ai-could-subdue-humans-with-weapons-2018-10">writing that ignoring the threat</a> of super-powerful AI could be humanity&#8217;s &#8220;worst mistake ever.&#8221; It could destroy us with weapons &#8220;we cannot even understand,&#8221; he wrote.
There&#8217;s some debate on this point. Many technologists, <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/03/elon-musk-billion-dollar-crusade-to-stop-ai-space-x">including eccentric billionaire Elon Musk</a>, agree that advanced AI could pose an <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/protecting-against-ais-existential-threat-1508332313">existential threat to humanity</a>.
But others play it down. &#8220;[There&#8217;s] no reason right now to be worried about self-conscious AI algorithms that set their own goals and go crazy,&#8221; Stanford machine learning lecturer Richard Socher <a href="http://fortune.com/2017/10/18/why-at-least-one-ai-expert-isnt-worried-about-ai-taking-over/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told </a>Fortune. And a <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/602410/no-the-experts-dont-think-superintelligent-ai-is-a-threat-to-humanity/">poll of AI researchers</a> found that most believe it will take at least 25 years to create an AI superintelligence — so at least we have a little time to prepare.
<h2>No Gods, No Masters</h2>
Hawking also came out swinging at religion in the book. &#8220;Belief in the afterlife is just wishful thinking,&#8221; <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/no-god-afterlife-concludes-stephen-183158425.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he writes</a>, adding that there&#8217;s &#8220;no possibility&#8221; of God.
Many scientists certainly agree with Hawking on this claim, though not all. A <a href="https://phys.org/news/2015-12-worldwide-survey-religion-science-scientists.html">2015 survey</a> found that many researchers around the world are religious, but in most countries, scientists are by and large less religious than non-scientists.
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/a23888652/stephen-hawking-says-no-god-new-book/">Stephen Hawking&#8217;s Final Book: &#8216;There Is No God&#8217;</a> [Esquire]
More on Stephen Hawking: <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawkings-most-dire-predictions-for-the-future">Stephen Hawking’s Most Dire Predictions for the Future</a>

Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking had a gloomy view of the future.

Here's what experts think of Stephen Hawking's posthumous predictions about AI, gene hacking, and religion

Team Stephen

In a posthumous book, Stephen Hawking made bold claims about future of humanity. Here's how experts evaluate his predictions.

Here’s What Experts Think of Stephen Hawking’s Posthumous Predictions About AI, Gene Hacking, and Religion

Hawking shares bold claims in his final work.

Stephen Hawking may have <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawkings-most-dire-predictions-for-the-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">died on March 14</a>, but he&#8217;s still pushing physics forward.
Today, the peer-reviewed <a href="https://link.springer.com/journal/13130" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Journal of High Energy Physics (JHEP)</a> published Hawking&#8217;s final theory on the universe&#8217;s origin, titled &#8220;<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP04(2018)147" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Smooth Exit from Eternal Inflation?</a>&#8221; The famed physicist wrote the paper in collaboration with Thomas Hertog, a professor at Belgium&#8217;s Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven), and it presents a <a href="https://www.space.com/31465-is-our-universe-just-one-of-many-in-a-multiverse.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">multiverse</a> theory unlike any other.
Here&#8217;s a (really) simplified explanation of (one) multiverse theory. The <a href="https://futurism.com/researchers-say-theres-no-alternative-theory-to-the-big-bang-yet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Big Bang</a> happened. The universe expanded. In some places, it kept expanding. In others, it stopped. In the places where it stopped, universes formed — ours, and a potentially infinite number of others.
According to Hertog, Hawking was never a big fan of the multiverse theory, but he knew it was hard to avoid.
&#8220;Pretty much any reasonable model of the Big Bang which we could come up with led us to a multiverse,&#8221; Hertog <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-monday-full-episode-1.4582515/stephen-hawking-s-final-theory-could-prove-the-existence-of-the-multiverse-1.4582520" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told CBC</a> in March. &#8220;If anything is possible — if a multiverse is too gigantic, too wild — then our theory won&#8217;t say anything about our own universe, and so it&#8217;s useless as a scientific theory.&#8221;
Hawking wanted a theory that would let researchers &#8220;control the multiverse,&#8221; said Hertog. Enter this newest paper: &#8220;A Smooth Exit from Eternal Inflation?&#8221;
Hertog first announced this theory at<a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/cambridge-celebrates-stephen-hawkings-75th-birthday"> a July 2017 event</a> to celebrate Hawking&#8217;s 75th birthday. Two weeks before Hawking&#8217;s death, he submitted his most up-to-date version of the theory, which led to today&#8217;s publication in JHEP.
In their paper, Hawking and Hertog use a mix of string theory, holographic principle, and math problems that resemble hieroglyphics to arrive at a multiverse theory that&#8217;s less unwieldy than the current standard.
&#8220;We are not down to a single, unique universe, but our findings imply a significant reduction of the multiverse, to a much smaller range of possible universes,&#8221; said Hawking, according to a Cambridge University press release.
&#8220;These ideas offer the breathtaking prospect of finding evidence for the existence of other universes,&#8221; Carlos Frenk, a professor of cosmology at Durham University who saw an early version of Hawking&#8217;s final theory, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/stephen-hawkings-parting-shot-is-multi-cosmic-nbg0t6t9j" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told The Times</a>. &#8220;This would profoundly change our perception of our place in the cosmos.&#8221;
Hetzog plans to test the theory&#8217;s assumptions in the &#8220;real world&#8221; by using space telescopes to study gravitational waves. While Hawking won&#8217;t be able to continue this work alongside his partner, he seemed satisfied with what he accomplished during his lifetime.
&#8220;It has been a glorious time to be alive and doing research into theoretical physics,&#8221; he said during his 75th birthday celebration back in July. &#8220;Our picture of the universe has changed a great deal in the last 50 years, and I&#8217;m happy if I&#8217;ve made a small contribution.&#8221;
With today&#8217;s publication of Hawking&#8217;s final theory, that &#8220;small&#8221; contribution just got a little bigger.

It could help us find evidence of other universes.

Stephen Hawking's final theory tackles the multiverse

Sci-Fi Visions

Today, a journal published Stephen Hawking's final theory, this time focused on giving researchers a way to "control" the multiverse.

Stephen Hawking's Final Theory Tackles the Multiverse

The famous recently-deceased physicist wasn't done changing physics.

Stephen Hawking’s Final Theory Tackles the Multiverse

Stephen Hawking was a brilliant astrophysicist who inspired and awed. He pushed our understanding of, curiosity about, and excitement for the universe around us. He made us laugh. He made us curious. He made us imagine.
He also, at times, made us afraid.
Hawking, who died this morning at the age of 76 after 52 years of living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease), will leave behind a deeply important legacy. But his paranoia about the future of humanity, especially in his later years, may prove to be one of the most lasting (and pertinent) aspects of that legacy.
These are a few of his most dire predictions:
<h2>AI Takeover</h2>
&#8220;The genie is out of the bottle. We need to move forward on artificial intelligence development but we also need to be mindful of its very real dangers,&#8221; Hawking said last year<a href="http://www.wired.co.uk/article/stephen-hawking-interview-alien-life-climate-change-donald-trump"> in a Q&amp;A with WIRED.</a> &#8220;I fear that AI may replace humans altogether. If people design computer viruses, someone will design AI that replicates itself. This will be a new form of life that will outperform humans.&#8221;
As AI permeates more of our daily lives, Hawking isn&#8217;t the only one to fear a robot takeover.
But there are other threats.
<h2>Self-Destruction</h2>
&#8220;Our earth is becoming too small for us, global population is increasing at an alarming rate and we are in danger of self-destructing&#8230; I would not be optimistic about the long-term outlook for our species.”
Hawking <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-believes-humankind-danger-self-destruction-ai/">said this in 2016 at an event</a> at Cambridge University, attesting his pessimism in part to the recent referendum for the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Union. In a 2017 documentary, he said humanity has <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-humanity-only-has-100-years-left-on-earth-before-doomsday/">just a century left</a> on Earth, down from the 1,000 years he predicted the year before.
That&#8217;s in part because of climate change and environmental destruction that, he feared, may make the Earth uninhabitable. Since he became president, Donald Trump had become a favorite target of Hawking&#8217;s:
&#8220;We are close to the tipping point where global warming becomes irreversible. Trump&#8217;s action [pulling out of the Paris Agreement] could push the Earth over the brink, to become like Venus, with a temperature of two hundred and fifty degrees, and raining sulphuric acid,&#8221; Hawking <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40461726">told BBC News</a>.
&#8220;Climate change is one of the great dangers we face, and it&#8217;s one we can prevent if we act now. By denying the evidence for climate change, and pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement, Donald Trump will cause avoidable environmental damage to our beautiful planet, endangering the natural world, for us and our children.&#8221;
Fortunately, though, he sees a solution.
<h2>Planetary Colonization</h2>
&#8220;If humanity is to continue for another million years, our future lies in boldly going where no one else has gone before,” Hawking said <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40345048">at a festival in Norway</a> last year.
&#8220;We are running out of space and the only places to go to are other worlds. It is time to explore other solar systems,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Spreading out may be the only thing that saves us from ourselves. I am convinced that humans need to leave Earth.&#8221;
&#8220;I hope it would unite competitive nations in a single goal, to face the common challenge for us all&#8230; A new and ambitious space program would excite [young people], and stimulate interest in other areas, such as astrophysics and cosmology.&#8221;
He laid out a fairly comprehensive series of benchmarks: nations should send astronauts to the Moon by 2020 (and set up a lunar base in the next 30 years). And we should get to Mars by 2025.
If Hawking is even remotely right, <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-has-a-plan-to-get-humans-to-mars-but-can-they-survive/">Musk had better hop to it</a>.

Stephen Hawking died this morning. Here's what he thought might happen in a future he would never see.

Stephen Hawking's most dire predictions for the future

Future Society

Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking died this morning at the age of 76. Here were some of his predictions for a future he will never see. 

Stephen Hawking’s Most Dire Predictions for the Future

Hawking inspired us. He also made us afraid.

<h2>Supercomputing</h2>
Hewlett-Packard Enterprise&#8217;s (HPE) supercomputer, the new Superdome Flex, is more than an impressive, technological marvel. It&#8217;s a tool capable of unlocking some of the most complex mysteries of the universe, and Professor Stephen Hawking’s Centre for Theoretical Cosmology <a href="https://phys.org/news/2016-06-stephen-hawking-universe.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(COSMOS) will be using the computer to do exactly that. </a>
The supercomputer&#8217;s high-speed memory can hold a staggering 48 terabytes of data. Because this data is stored in the newly-designed memory system instead of a more traditional storage system, the computer can process enormous amounts of data at lightning speed. This is great news for COSMOS, as they plan to sort through 14 billion years of data with the goal of filling in gaps in our knowledge of the physical history of the universe.
This<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hpe-steven-hawking-group-supercomputer-partnership-black-holes-2017-11?r=US&amp;IR=T"> computer might be just the beginning</a> of this quest for knowledge, as it&#8217;s merely the precursor to &#8220;The Machine,&#8221; — HPE&#8217;s highly anticipated &#8220;ultimate vision&#8221; for computing. Their prototype will supposedly be able to store 160 terabytes of data in memory and can be built in a similar way to the Superdome Flex. Until this ambitious model becomes a more realistic option, Professor Hawking&#8217;s research group will use the immense capabilities of their existing supercomputer in their quest to discover more about the universe.
<h2>Mysterious Universe</h2>
COSMOS has already been making use of one HPE supercomputer and has been utilizing supercomputing power since 1997, their recent project is a natural progression for the researchers. Still, they hope that the latest advancement will allow them to achieve more than they ever have before.
With the Superdome Flex, COSMOS intends to create the most detailed 3-dimensional map of the early universe to date. They hope to show the location and position of cosmic bodies like supernovas, black holes, galaxies, and much more. The project is officially named &#8220;Beyond the Horizon – Tribute to Stephen Hawking. It was dubbed as such because &#8220;Hawking is a great theorist but he always wants to test his theories against observations. What will emerge is a 3D map of the universe with the positions of billions of galaxies,&#8221; said Professor Shellard in a Cambridge press release.
Data from the ESA&#8217;s Euclid probe, set to launch in 2020, will support these efforts, allowing the team to gain better insight into what researchers refer to as the &#8220;dark universe.&#8221; The team hopes that this combination of data will also allow them to more deeply peer into, and <a href="https://futurism.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-dark-matter-in-1-minute/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">understand dark matter and dark energy</a>, and their influence on the geometry, structure, and inner workings of the universe.
In addition to advancing our knowledge, the 3D map could potentially confirm existing theories about the universe. From our current understanding of black holes to the age of the universe and the standard model, the insights the map provides could challenge much of what we believe to be true about our universe. It may not be what leads humankind to a universal<a href="https://futurism.com/videos/watch-michio-kaku-explains-the-theory-of-everything/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> &#8220;theory of everything,&#8221;</a> but it will allow physicists to get closer than humanity has ever come before.

The project, officially named "Beyond the Horizon – Tribute to Stephen Hawking," will create a 3D map of the universe with help from a supercomputer.

Hawking's Institute is using a supercomputer to uncover the nature of space and time

Off World

A new collaboration between HPE's newest supercomputer and Stephen Hawking's research group COSMOS hope to answer some of these questions.

Hawking's Institute Is Using a Supercomputer to Uncover the Nature of Space and Time

The computer will sort through 14 billion years of data. 

Hawking’s Institute Is Using a Supercomputer to Uncover the Nature of Space and Time

<h2>Theory of the End</h2>
Stephen Hawking is one of the most respected minds in science today. He often speaks on a wide range of topics both within and outside of his particular expertise in theoretical physics. Some of Hawking&#8217;s most discussed topics including the <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-has-flawed-ideas-about-alien-life-according-to-former-seti-scientist/">search for alien life</a>, <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-america-must-take-action-against-climate-change/">climate change</a>, <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-ai-replace-humans/?src=featured">artificial intelligence</a> (AI), and how all of these things, <a href="https://futurism.com/the-sun-is-slowly-expanding-how-can-we-stop-it-from-killing-us-all/">and more</a>, are going to spell the <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-humanity-only-has-100-years-left-on-earth-before-doomsday/">end of humanity</a> once and for all.
Speaking at an event at Cambridge University last year Hawking said, &#8220;Our earth is becoming too small for us, global population is increasing at an alarming rate and we are in danger of self-destructing.&#8221;
He recognizes the pessimism of his assertations. Hawking cites the passing of the controversial &#8220;Brexit&#8221; plan for the UK to leave the EU as a reason for this enduring pessimism, saying that if the measure passes, &#8220;&#8230;I would not be optimistic about the long-term outlook for our species.&#8221;
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<h2>&#8220;Spot On&#8221;</h2>
<a href="http://www.igsd.org/about/people/durwood-zaelke/">Durwood Zaelke</a> is the founder and President of the <a href="http://www.igsd.org/about/igsd/">Institute for Governance &amp; Sustainable Development</a> (IGSD), an organization with a mission &#8220;to promote just and sustainable societies and to protect the environment by advancing the understanding, development, and implementation of effective, and accountable systems of governance for sustainable development.&#8221; Zaelke spoke to Futurism about Hawking&#8217;s comments.
&#8220;Mr. Hawking is spot on,&#8221; he began. &#8220;We’re chasing a fast-moving—indeed an accelerating problem of climate change, with slow-moving solutions, and we&#8217;re getting further behind every day.&#8221; As <a href="https://futurism.com/new-report-asserts-the-earths-population-will-reach-9-8-billion-by-2050/?src=featured">populations continue to boom</a>, the detrimental environmental impact of humanity will only continue to worsen.
Like Hawking, Zealke believes that we are close to the <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-we-are-close-to-the-tipping-point-where-global-warming-becomes-irreversible/">tipping point</a> where climate change becomes irreversible. Speaking in dire terms, Zealke said that &#8220;&#8230;we’ll soon face climate-driven chaos that will threaten our very civilization and our democratic form of government, while the fear of chaos feeds authoritarian regimes.&#8221;
In order to ensure the survival of our species, Hawking suggests humanity move beyond the confines of this planet. In June, Hawking told the BCC that &#8220;Spreading out may be the only thing that saves us from ourselves. I am convinced that humans need to leave Earth.&#8221; Colonizing other areas of the Solar System will certainly help to relieve some of this population pressure and therefore mitigate carbon emissions. Despite whatever potential this idea has, Hawking cites another threat to human-kind that there just might be no running away from.
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<h2>AI-nihlation</h2>
Hawking often speaks about the development of <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-ai-replace-humans/">artificial intelligence</a> (AI) as the true perpetrator of the eventual demise of human beings. In an interview with <a href="https://www.wired.com/">WIRED</a> Hawking said, &#8220;The genie is out of the bottle. I fear that AI may replace humans altogether.&#8221;
<a href="http://metro.co.uk/2017/11/02/stephen-hawkings-terrifying-warning-about-ai-robots-7048081/">Hawking fears</a> that we will develop AI that is too competent, &#8220;A superintelligent AI will be extremely good at accomplishing its goals, and if those goals aren’t aligned with ours, we’re in trouble.&#8221; Other big names within science and tech share these <a href="https://futurism.com/2-expert-thinks-ai-will-undoubtably-wipe-out-humanity/">same trepedations</a> as Hawking.
Founder of OpenAI and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, Elon Musk, also has concerns about the <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-reminds-us-of-the-possible-dangers-of-unregulated-ai/">destructive potential</a> of AI. Musk has moderated his own rhetoric comparatively to Hawking (though he did say that AI is <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-reminds-us-of-the-possible-dangers-of-unregulated-ai/">more of a risk</a> than North Korea) which is focused on the need to regulate the development of AI systems. “AI just something that I think anything that represents a risk to the public deserves at least insight from the government because one of the mandates of the government is the public well-being,” Musk said.
Hawking believes that “some form of world government” should have <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-ai-replace-humans/">control of the technology</a> to make sure the machines don&#8217;t rise up and rebel like their terminating fictional counterparts.
However, these fears could be disproportionate to reality. Speaking to Futurism about <a href="https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence-is-our-future-but-will-it-save-or-destroy-humanity/">all of this fear</a> surrounding the development of AI, Pascal Kaufmann, the founder of Starmind and president of the synthetic intelligence development initiative the <a href="https://futurism.com/global-collaboration-create-artificial-organisms-live/">Mindfire Foundation</a>, denies the likelihood of AI developing into a threat. &#8220;It is fascinating that when it comes to AI, our first thoughts often go towards being enslaved by our creations. That perspective makes for entertaining movies, but it does not mean that reality is doomed to walk the same path, or that it is the likely scenario,&#8221; he explained.
Kaufmann, however, does not deny the potential for destructive AI. &#8220;There are dangers which come with the creation of such powerful and omniscient technology, just as there are dangers with anything that is powerful. This does not mean we should assume the worst and make potentially detrimental decisions now based on that fear.&#8221;
Perhaps there is some way to trade the irrational fears for rational ones. Hawking certainly is right about the threat of climate change. Maybe if humans were more concerned with the scientific fact of climate change than the science fiction of killer robot overlords, we could start making real progress in getting our planet back on track.

Is Hawking right about the potential of AI?

Stephen Hawking believes humankind is in danger of self-destruction due to AI

Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking is a monumental figure in modern science. He's focused on what he perceives to be major threats to the future.

Stephen Hawking Believes Humankind Is in Danger of Self-Destruction Due to AI

The physicist says it's time to make some severe changes. 

<h2>Leaving Earth</h2>
Professor Stephen Hawking isn&#8217;t afraid to state his opinion bluntly and honestly. He has publicly expressed<a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-ai-replace-humans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> his fears about the future of artificial intelligence (AI)</a>, the need for<a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-new-space-age/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> a new Space Age</a>, the <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-we-are-close-to-the-tipping-point-where-global-warming-becomes-irreversible/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">serious realities of global warming</a>, how we might reach <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawkings-tiny-spacecraft-could-reach-another-solar-system-in-just-over-20-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">another Solar System</a>, and that, as a species, humans must leave Earth <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-i-am-convinced-that-humans-need-to-leave-earth/">in order to survive</a>.
Hawking has previously stated <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-humanity-only-has-100-years-left-on-earth-before-doomsday/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that our time on Earth is limited to 100 years</a>, after originally estimating 1,000 years. But, in a new announcement in a video presentation this past Sunday, November 5th at the Tencent Web Summit in Beijing, he gave the <a href="https://www.space.com/38695-stephen-hawking-humanity-must-leave-earth.html?utm_content=buffer638e3&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">human species less than 600 years </a>before we will need to leave Earth, according to <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/4852083/stephen-hawking-says-earth-will-become-a-sizzling-fire-ball-by-2600-and-humanity-will-become-extinct/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the British newspaper The Sun.</a>
Earlier in the year, <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-i-am-convinced-that-humans-need-to-leave-earth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hawking said that</a>: “We are running out of space and the only places to go to are other worlds. It is time to explore other solar systems. Spreading out may be the only thing that saves us from ourselves. I am convinced that humans need to leave Earth.&#8221;
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A major concern of Hawking, and others, is that climate change is <a href="https://futurism.com/sea-levels-are-on-the-rise-and-its-not-looking-good/">already causing rapid sea level rise</a>. It is possible that, if this progression isn&#8217;t diminished by a cut in emissions, a significant percentage of what is currently land will be under water. (This is, of course, in addition to the other life-threatening effects of climate change.) Additionally, as this continues, populations are set to continue increasing, which <a href="https://futurism.com/david-attenborough-if-we-dont-limit-our-population-growth-the-natural-world-will/">could have disastrous consequences</a>. Hawking is confident that within the next few hundred years, Earth will no longer be a habitable option for humans.
<h2>Hawking&#8217;s Doomsday</h2>
This hypothetical day when humans will supposedly have to leave Earth has been likened to a &#8220;Doomsday.&#8221; Hawking has asserted multiple timelines for this eventual moment, but he is certain that, at some point, we will have to find a new home.
With ongoing projects by NASA, SpaceX, and both private and government agencies around the globe, it is likely that within the next few decades we will land humans on Mars. And, between <a href="https://futurism.com/terraforming-new-earth-making-mars/">proposals to terraform Mars</a> and innovative designs like those from the <a href="https://futurism.com/mit-radical-design-martian-city/">Mars City Design competitions</a>, it is possible that, if humans must leave earth, the red planet could one day be our alternate home.
In addition to efforts to reach Mars, <a href="https://futurism.com/scientists-just-launched-a-breakthrough-initiative-to-find-intelligent-alien-life/">Hawking helped to launch</a> the Breakthrough Initiatives, a series of projects <a href="https://breakthroughinitiatives.org/About">seeking to probe</a> &#8220;the big questions of life in the Universe,&#8221; including finding and communicating with extraterrestrial life. One of these initiatives is Breakthrough Starshot, which will send nanocraft to Alpha Centauri, our closest star, in an effort to better understand life in the Universe. This technological platform could also allow us to find faster and better ways to travel to other planets. After all, if Hawking is right, the International Space Station (ISS) isn&#8217;t big enough to house the billions of people who currently reside on planet Earth.

Between climate change, sea level rise, and overcrowding, Hawking believes humans will need to leave to survive.

Stephen Hawking: Humans must leave Earth within 600 years

Stephen Hawking recently amended his estimate of how long we have before humans must leave Earth due to inhospitable conditions and overcrowding.

Stephen Hawking: Humans Must Leave Earth Within 600 Years

This estimate is an increase from his previous timeline of 100 years.

<h2>The Point of No Return</h2>
Stephen Hawking fears it may only be a matter of time before humanity is forced to flee Earth in search of a new home. The famed theoretical physicist has previously said that he thinks humankind&#8217;s survival will rely on our ability to <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-i-am-convinced-that-humans-need-to-leave-earth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">become a multi-planetary species.</a> Hawking reiterated — and in fact emphasized — the point in a recent interview with <a href="https://www.wired.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WIRED</a> in which he stated that humanity has reached &#8220;the point of no return.&#8221;
Hawking said the necessity of finding a second planetary home for humans stems from both concerns over a growing population and the imminent threat posed by the development of artificial intelligence (AI). He warned that AI will soon become super intelligent — potentially enough so that it could replace humankind.
&#8220;The genie is out of the bottle. I fear that AI may replace humans altogether,&#8221; Hawking told WIRED.
It certainly wasn&#8217;t the first time <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/stephen-hawking-artificial-intelligence-could-spell-the-end-of-the-human-race-2014-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hawking made such a dire warning</a>. In an interview back in March with <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-finally-revealed-his-plan-for-preventing-an-ai-apocalypse/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Times</a>, he said that an AI apocalypse was impending, and the creation of &#8220;some form of world government&#8221; would be necessary to control the technology. Hawking has also cautioned about the impact <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-automation-and-ai-is-going-to-decimate-middle-class-jobs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AI would have on middle-class jobs</a>, and even called for an outright<a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-stephen-hawking-ban-military-robots-capable-artificial-intelligence/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> ban on the development of AI agents for military use</a>.
In both cases, it would seem, his warnings have been largely ignored. Still, some would argue that intelligent machines are already taking over jobs, and several countries —including the U.S. and Russia<a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-leads-ai-experts-with-letter-urging-un-to-consider-threat-of-autonomous-weapons/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> — are pursuing some sort of AI-powered weapon</a> for use by their military.
<iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mJeNghZXtMo?start=93&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h2>A New Life Form</h2>
In recent years, AI development has become a widely divisive topic: some experts have made similar arguments as Hawking, including <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-competition-for-ai-superiority-at-national-level-will-be-the-most-likely-cause-of-ww3/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SpaceX and Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk</a> and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Both Musk and Gates see the potential for AI&#8217;s development to be the cause of humanity&#8217;s demise. On the other hand, quite <a href="https://futurism.com/ai-researchers-disagree-with-elon-musks-warnings-about-artificial-intelligence/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a number of experts</a> have posited that <a href="https://futurism.com/tech-experts-disagree-wildly-on-the-future-impact-of-ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">such warnings are unnecessary fear-mongering</a>, which may be based on farfetched super-intelligent AI take-over scenarios that they fear could <a href="https://futurism.com/mark-zuckerberg-responds-to-elon-musks-warnings-about-ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">distort public perception of AI</a>.
As far as Hawking is concerned, the fears are valid. &#8220;If people design computer viruses, someone will design AI that improves and replicates itself,&#8221; Hawking said in the interview with WIRED. &#8220;This will be a new form of life that outperforms humans.&#8221;
Hawking, it seems, was referring to the development of AI that&#8217;s smart enough to think, or even better than, human beings — an event that&#8217;s been dubbed the technological singularity. In terms of when that will happen (if ever) Hawking didn&#8217;t exactly offer a time table. We could assume that it would arrive at some point within the 100-year deadline Hawking imposed for humanity&#8217;s survival on Earth. Others, such as SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and Google chief engineer Ray Kurzweil, have put the timeframe for the singularity even sooner than that — within the next 30 years.
We still have miles to go in terms of <a href="https://futurism.com/conscious-ai-decades-away/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">developing truly intelligent AI</a>, and we don&#8217;t exactly know yet what the singularity would bring. Would it herald humankind&#8217;s doom or might it usher in a new era where humans and machines co-exist? In either case, <a href="https://futurism.com/what-do-we-really-know-about-the-promise-and-potential-perils-of-ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AI&#8217;s potential to be used for both good and bad</a> demands that we take the necessary precautions.

Hawking believes humanity has reached "the point of no return."

Stephen Hawking: "I fear that AI may replace humans altogether"

Artificial intelligence, illustration

Artificial Intelligence

In a recent interview with WIRED, famous theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking again warned about the dangers of super-intelligent AI.

Stephen Hawking: "I Fear That AI May Replace Humans Altogether"

AI could essentially be a "new form of life that will outperform humans."

Stephen Hawking: “I Fear That AI May Replace Humans Altogether”

<h2>New Space Age</h2>
Professor Stephen Hawking is old enough to remember the first space age, which came about in the mid-20th century. For the better part of the 1950s and 60s, NASA scientists were embroiled in the &#8220;space race&#8221; with nations around the world; all of whom had the ultimate goal of being the first to put a man on the Moon. It was an exciting time in human history and one that spurred technological advances that have very much informed how we live (on Earth and beyond) today. Having achieved a lunar landing, our sights are now set on our neighbor, Mars. With private companies like SpaceX, as well as government aerospace programs, taking an interest in the Red Planet, along with increased public interest, it would seem that <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/sputnik-at-60-how-elon-musk-and-jeff-bezos-started-a-new-space-age/article/2009928" target="_blank" rel="noopener">we are entering a new space age</a>.
<q class="pullquote">&#8220;Our Earth is becoming too small for us, global population is increasing at an alarming rate and we are in danger of self-destructing.&#8221;</q>
WIRED recently explored the dawning of a new space age <a href="https://www.starmus.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at Starmus Festival 2017</a> with several of today&#8217;s brightest minds in science. Most notable among them Professor Stephen Hawking, who is a key member of the advisory board for the festival.
<figure id="attachment_110043" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-110043 size-large" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2017/11/Physicist_Stephen_Hawking_in_Zero_Gravity_NASA-1200x800.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="800" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Credit: Wikimedia/Jim Campbell/Aero-News Network</figcaption></figure>
Hawking has always been fairly straightforward with his opinions on climate change, space travel, and other controversial areas of scientific and technological interest. He&#8217;s even gone as far as to say he&#8217;s <a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-i-am-convinced-that-humans-need-to-leave-earth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;convinced that humans need to leave Earth.&#8221;</a>
He&#8217;s not the only one with that perspective, either. In an <a href="https://futurism.com/buzz-aldrin-its-time-for-humans-to-start-looking-at-other-planets-to-live-on/">interview with Futurism this summer, Buzz Aldrin</a> also suggested that humans days of living comfortably on Earth are numbered. His suggested destination? Despite the fact that Aldrin was the second human to set foot on the Moon, he did not suggest our off-world colonizing efforts start there. Instead, he said that it&#8217;s time to &#8220;start thinking seriously about what life on Mars might look like in the future.&#8221;
<h2>The Point of No Return</h2>
Hawking didn&#8217;t hesitate to assert that we need &#8220;to pursue rigorously a space-exploration programme, [with] a view to eventually colonizing suitable planets for human habitation.&#8221; Like Aldrin, he believes the time has come for us to begin searching for another planet to make our home upon, as we have done irreparable<a href="https://futurism.com/stephen-hawking-we-are-close-to-the-tipping-point-where-global-warming-becomes-irreversible/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> damage to Earth</a>. In terms of humanity&#8217;s culpability for the state of our present domicile, Hawking boldly stated: &#8220;I believe we have reached the point of no return.&#8221;<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/there-will-be-no-mars-generation-without-these-technologies/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2015/12/mannedmars_home_v1.png" alt="There Will Be No Mars Generation Without These Technologies" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/there-will-be-no-mars-generation-without-these-technologies/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></figure>
<q class="pullquote">&#8220;I believe we have reached the point of no return.&#8221;</q>
While not everyone in the scientific community agrees, the precarious reality on Earth will only continue to get worse if humanity doesn&#8217;t take action. Finding an alternate way of life on Earth, Hawking said, will be necessary if we wish to remain here. NASA, Elon Musk with SpaceX, and Jeff Besoz&#8217;s Blue Origins are all on the forefront of the emerging space age and, coupled with Hawking&#8217;s remarks, bodes well for support in this new era of aerospace innovation.
The first great space race sought to prove that space travel was not only possible but that we could harness it to reach the Moon. If the time we&#8217;re in now is to be the second space age, our goals have been set much higher. Or rather, farther. Perhaps not everyone believes, as Hawking does, that we need to leave Earth, but this new space age hinges on the desire we have to reach Mars, much in the same way we once dreamt of putting a human on the Moon. As Aldrin told Futurism, “Space travel is a great unifier–it captures our collective imagination, encourages our curiosity, and inspires our creativity.”
In the process, we will explore the greatest depths of deep space and see more than has ever before been imagined. Much as we were half a century ago as we stoked our curiosity about the Moon, our hearts and minds are now committed to at the very least exploring, if not one day colonizing, other distant and captivating new worlds.

Stephen Hawking: we need a new space age

At Starmus Festival 2017, Stephen Hawking said "I am convinced that humans need to leave Earth." We've entered a new space age demanding we expand or die.

Stephen Hawking: We Need a New Space Age

Or else there will be "serious consequences."

<h2>Choosing Sides</h2>
If tech experts are to be believed, artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform the world. But those same experts don&#8217;t agree on what kind of effect that transformation will have on the average person. Some believe that humans will be much better off in the hands of advanced AI systems, while others think it will lead to our inevitable downfall.
How could a single technology evoke such vastly different responses from people within the tech community?
Artificial intelligence is software built to learn or problem solve — processes typically performed in the human brain. Digital assistants like <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwi1upXP_cXWAhXCqVQKHakkCTgQFggoMAA&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Ffuturism.com%2Famazon-and-microsoft-are-combining-their-robotic-assistants%2F&amp;usg=AFQjCNEUPFbyKKO2bqKcMdAuUmgzG_934A">Amazon&#8217;s Alexa</a> and <a href="https://futurism.com/heres-why-apples-custom-gpu-and-a11-bionic-chip-are-utterly-revolutionary/">Apple&#8217;s Siri </a>, along with <a href="https://futurism.com/tesla-confirms-an-autopilot-hardware-update-for-all-new-vehicles/">Tesla&#8217;s Autopilot</a>, are all powered by AI. Some forms of AI can even <a href="https://futurism.com/85493-2/">create visual art</a> or <a href="https://futurism.com/ai-songwriter-gets-an-a-for-effort-on-its-kubrickian-christmas-song/">write songs</a>.
There&#8217;s little question that AI has the potential to be revolutionary. Automation could transform the way we work by <a href="https://futurism.com/automation-may-lead-to-a-workless-future-for-humans-heres-how-we-can-cope/">replacing humans</a> with machines and software. Further developments in the area of <a href="https://futurism.com/lyfts-self-driving-ai-cars-are-hitting-san-franciscos-streets/">self-driving cars</a> are poised to make driving a thing of the past. <a href="https://futurism.com/lowes-debuts-its-autonomous-robot-assistant-the-lowebot/">Artificially intelligent shopping assistants</a> could even change the way we shop. Humans have always controlled these aspects of our lives, so it makes sense to be a bit wary of letting an artificial system take over.
<figure id="attachment_103314" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-full wp-image-103314" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2017/09/8384110298_da510e0347_b.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="600" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Image credit: Silver Blue/Flickr</figcaption></figure>
<h2>The Lay Of The Land</h2>
AI is fast becoming a major economic force. According to a paper from the McKinsey Global Institute Study <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2017/07/09/mckinseys-state-of-machine-learning-and-ai-2017/#295a6e4675b6">reported by Forbes</a>, in 2016 alone, between $8 billion and $12 billion was invested in the development of AI worldwide. A <a href="https://futurism.com/analysts-predict-that-artificial-intelligence-will-be-a-14-billion-industry-by-2023/">report from analysts</a> with Goldstein Research predicts that, by 2023, AI will be a $14 billion industry.
KR Sanjiv, chief technology officer <a href="http://www.wipro.com/about-Wipro/">at Wipro</a>, believes that companies in fields as disparate as healthcare and finance are investing so much in AI so quickly because they fear being left behind. &#8220;So as with all things strange and new, the prevailing wisdom is that the risk of being left behind is far greater, and far grimmer, than the benefits of playing it safe,&#8221; he wrote in <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/24/investing-in-ai-offers-more-rewards-than-risks/">an op-ed published</a> in Tech Crunch last year.
Games provide a useful window into the increasing sophistication of AI. Case in point, developers such as <a href="https://deepmind.com/">Google&#8217;s DeepMind</a> and <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjuu7nTgMbWAhXLzFQKHRUpDVcQFggoMAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fopenai.com%2F&amp;usg=AFQjCNFHAxM3QyNtGdN-D2KI-5r9TXf9pw">Elon Musk&#8217;s OpenAI</a> have been using games to teach AI systems how to learn. So far, these systems have bested the world&#8217;s greatest players of the <a href="https://futurism.com/googles-alphago-proves-its-mettle-against-a-team-of-five/">ancient strategy game Go</a>, and even more complex games like <a href="https://futurism.com/3-ai-can-now-wipe-out-professional-super-smash-bro-players/">Super Smash Bros</a> and <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musks-openai-created-a-bot-that-can-beat-the-worlds-best-esports-players/">DOTA 2</a>.
On the surface, these victories may sound incremental and minor — AI that can play Go can&#8217;t navigate a self-driving car, after all. But on a deeper level, these developments are indicative of the more sophisticated AI systems of the future. Through these games, AI become capable of complex decision-making that could one day translate into real-world tasks. Software that can play infinitely complex games like Starcraft, could, with a lot more research and development, autonomously perform surgeries or process multi-step voice commands.
When this happens, AI will become incredibly sophisticated. And this is where the worrying starts.
<h2>AI Anxiety</h2>
Wariness surrounding powerful technological advances is not novel. Various science fiction stories, from The Matrix to <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343818/">I, Robot</a>, have exploited viewers&#8217; anxiety around AI. Many such plots center around a concept called &#8220;<a href="https://futurism.com/singularity-explain-it-to-me-like-im-5-years-old/">the Singularity</a>,&#8221; the moment in which AIs become more intelligent than their human creators. The scenarios differ, but they often end with the total eradication of the human race, or with machine overlords subjugating people.
Several world-renowned sciences and tech experts have been vocal about their fears of AI. Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking famously worries that advanced AI will <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-hawking-artificial-intelligence-could-spell-the-end-of-the-human-race-2014-12?r=UK&amp;IR=T">take over the world</a> and end the human race. If robots become smarter than humans, his logic goes, the machines would be able to create unimaginable weapons and manipulate human leaders with ease. &#8220;It would take off on its own, and redesign itself at an ever-increasing rate,&#8221; he told <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30290540">the BBC</a> in 2014. &#8220;Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn&#8217;t compete, and would be superseded.&#8221;
Elon Musk, the futurist CEO of ventures such as Tesla and SpaceX, echoes those sentiments, calling AI &#8220;&#8230;a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization,&#8221; at the <a href="https://www.nga.org/cms/SummerMeeting2017" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2017 National Governors Association Summer Meeting</a>.
Neither Musk nor Hawking believe that developers should avoid the development of AI, but they agree that government regulation should ensure the tech does not go rogue. &#8220;Normally, the way regulations are set up is a whole bunch of bad things happen, there’s a public outcry, and after many years, a regulatory agency is set up to regulate that industry,&#8221; Musk said during the same NGA talk. &#8220;it takes forever. That, in the past, has been bad, but not something which represented a fundamental risk to the existence of civilization.&#8221;
Hawking believes that a global governing body needs to regulate the development of AI to prevent a particular nation from becoming superior. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently <a href="https://futurism.com/vladimir-putin-country-that-leads-in-ai-development-will-be-the-ruler-of-the-world/">stoked this fear</a> at a meeting with Russian students in early September, when he said, &#8220;The one who becomes the leader in this sphere will be the ruler of the world.&#8221; These comments further emboldened Musk&#8217;s position — he <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-competition-for-ai-superiority-at-national-level-will-be-the-most-likely-cause-of-ww3/">tweeted</a> that the race for AI superiority is the &#8220;most likely cause of WW3.&#8221;
Musk has taken steps to combat this perceived threat. He, along with startup guru Sam Altman, co-founded the <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-just-unveiled-breakthrough-ai-research-heres-what-your-need-to-know/">non-profit OpenAI</a> in order to guide AI development towards innovations that benefit all of humanity. According to the <a href="https://openai.com/about/">company&#8217;s mission statement:</a> &#8220;By being at the forefront of the field, we can influence the conditions under which AGI is created.&#8221; Musk also founded a company called Neuralink intended to create a <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-just-outlined-how-hell-merge-the-human-brain-and-ai/">brain-computer interface</a>. Linking the brain to a computer would, in theory, augment the brain&#8217;s processing power to keep pace with AI systems.
Other predictions are less optimistic. <a href="https://www.seti.org/seti-institute/staff/seth-shostak">Seth Shostak</a>, the senior astronomer at SETI believes that AI will succeed humans as the most intelligent entities on the planet. &#8220;The first generation [of AI] is just going to do what you tell them; however, by the third generation, then they will have their own agenda,&#8221; Shostak said in an interview with Futurism.
However, Shostak doesn&#8217;t believe sophisticated AI will end up enslaving the human race — instead, he predicts, humans will simply become immaterial to these hyper-intelligent machines. Shostak thinks that these machines will exist on an intellectual plane so far above humans that, at worst, we will be nothing more than a tolerable nuisance.
<figure id="attachment_103315" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-full wp-image-103315" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2017/09/maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com-Mimic-Robot-Artificial-Intelligence-Face-Humanoid-1477614.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="423" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Image source: Max Pixel</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Fear Not</h2>
Not everyone believes the rise of AI will be detrimental to humans; some are convinced that the technology has the potential to make our lives better. &#8220;The so-called control problem that Elon is worried about isn&#8217;t something that people should feel is imminent. We shouldn&#8217;t panic about it,&#8221; Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates recently told the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-rare-joint-interview-with-microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-and-bill-gates-1506358852">Wall Street Journal.</a> Facebook&#8217;s <a href="https://futurism.com/mark-zuckerberg-responds-to-elon-musks-warnings-about-ai/">Mark Zuckerberg</a> went even further during a Facebook Live broadcast back in July, saying that Musk&#8217;s comments were &#8220;pretty irresponsible.&#8221; Zuckerberg is optimistic about what AI will enable us to accomplish and thinks that these unsubstantiated doomsday scenarios are nothing more than fear-mongering.
Some experts predict that AI could enhance our humanity. In 2010, Swiss neuroscientist Pascal Kaufmann founded <a href="http://www.starmind.com/">Starmind</a>, a company that plans to use self-learning algorithms to create a &#8220;superorganism&#8221; made of thousands of experts&#8217; brains. &#8220;A lot of AI alarmists do not actually work in AI. [Their] fear goes back to that incorrect correlation between how computers work and how the brain functions,&#8221; Kaufmann told Futurism.
Kaufmann believes that this basic lack of understanding leads to predictions that may make good movies, but do not say anything about our future reality. &#8220;When we start comparing how the brain works to how computers work, we immediately go off track in tackling the principles of the brain,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We must first understand the concepts of how the brain works and then we can apply that knowledge to AI development.&#8221; Better understanding of our own brains would not only lead to AI sophisticated enough to rival human intelligence, but also to better brain-computer interfaces to enable a dialogue between the two.
To Kaufmann, AI, like many technological advances that came before, isn&#8217;t without risk. &#8220;There are dangers which come with the creation of such powerful and omniscient technology, just as there are dangers with anything that is powerful. This does not mean we should assume the worst and make potentially detrimental decisions now based on that fear,&#8221; he said.
Experts expressed similar concerns about <a href="https://futurism.com/worlds-leading-physicist-says-quantum-computers-are-tools-of-destruction-not-creation/">quantum computers</a>, and about lasers and nuclear weapons—applications for that technology can be both harmful and helpful.
<h2>Definite Disrupter</h2>
Predicting the future is a delicate game. We can only rely on our predictions of what we already have, and yet it&#8217;s impossible to rule anything out.
We don&#8217;t yet know whether AI will usher in a golden age of human existence, or if it will all end in the destruction of everything humans cherish. What is clear, though, is that thanks to AI, the world of the future could bear little resemblance to the one we inhabit today.

Artificial intelligence will reshape humanity. The only question is whether humans will be better or worse as a result.

Artificial Intelligence is our future. But will it save or destroy humanity?

Artificial intelligence, conceptual image

AI can reshape society for the better or worse. Explore what the experts think about AI and the future of humanity. Keep up with AI news with Futurism.

AI and the Future of Humanity - AI News | Futurism

Here's a rundown of what the world's greatest minds think.

Artificial Intelligence Is Our Future. But Will It Save Or Destroy Humanity?

<h2>Calling All Aliens</h2>
As autumn brings with it cooler temperatures and clearer night skies, Douglas Vakoch, <a href="http://meti.org/board/douglas-vakoch" target="_blank">president of Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI)</a>, wants you to take the opportunity to survey the glory of our galaxy — and to contemplate the existence of alien life.
“You look at the night sky — virtually all of those stars have planets,&#8221; Rosenberg said in an exclusive interview with Futurism. &#8220;Maybe one out of five has it at just the right zone where there&#8217;s liquid water. And so we know there are a lot of places that there could be life. Now the big question is, are they actually trying to make contact, or do they want us to try?&#8221;
<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/top-8-confirmed-exoplanets-that-could-host-alien-life/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2015/08/exoplanets_home.png" alt="Top 8 Confirmed Exoplanets That Could Host Alien Life" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/top-8-confirmed-exoplanets-that-could-host-alien-life/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></figure>
METI&#8217;s stance is that we should assume the latter, and the collection of scientists have taken it upon themselves to reach out to any potential alien civilizations. In fact, <a href="https://futurism.com/despite-opposition-meti-will-still-reach-out-to-alien-life-in-2018/" target="_blank">the next transmission planned for next year</a>. However, there have long been voices opposed to this strategy — perhaps the most prominent of which being <a href="https://futurism.com/the-search-for-alien-life-stephen-hawking-cautions-against-making-first-contact/" target="_blank">Stephen Hawking</a>.
Hawking, a noted physicist and author, supports the search for aliens, but regularly cautions against attempting contact. Hawking argued in <a href="https://app.curiositystream.com/video/1697" target="_blank">“Stephen Hawking’s Favorite Places,”</a> a video on the platform <a href="https://app.curiositystream.com/" target="_blank">CuriosityStream</a>, that aliens could be “vastly more powerful and may not see us as any more valuable than we see bacteria.”
<h2>Paying Our Dues?</h2>
These are not warnings that Vakoch takes lightly. &#8220;Well, when Stephen Hawking, a brilliant cosmologist, has said, ‘whatever you do, don’t transmit, we don&#8217;t want the aliens to come to Earth,’ You&#8217;ve got to take it seriously,&#8221; Vakoch told Futurism.
But there&#8217;s one key point that Hawking really doesn&#8217;t seem to take into consideration in this assessment, Vakoch said.
<blockquote>It&#8217;s the fact that every civilization that does have the ability to travel to Earth could already pick up I Love Lucy. So we have been sending our existence into space with radio signals for 78 years. Even before that, two and a half billion years, we have been telling the Universe that there is life on here because of the oxygen in our atmosphere. So if there&#8217;s any alien out there paranoid about competition, it could have already come and wipe us out. If they&#8217;re on their way, it&#8217;s a lot better strategy to say we&#8217;re interested in being conversational partners. Let&#8217;s strike up a new conversation.</blockquote>
It&#8217;s Vakoch&#8217;s belief that humanity&#8217;s first contact with alien life will occur within our lifetimes. But even if it does not, he believes the METI project will be foundational to any relationship our world builds with others.
&#8220;Sometimes people talk about this interstellar communication as an effort to join the galactic club. What I find so strange is no one ever talks about paying our dues or even submitting an application. And that&#8217;s what METI does,&#8221; Vakoch said. “It&#8217;s actually contributing something to the galaxy instead of saying gimme gimme gimme me. What can we do for someone else.”

In an interview with Futurism, Douglas Vakoch, president of Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI), says he believes humanity's first contact with alien life will occur within our lifetimes.

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Douglas Vakoch is part of a group scientists that actively works to initiate first contact with alien civilizations. Stephan Hawking argues that this strategy is too risky, but Vakoch counters that our existence is already obvious to advanced aliens.

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