Stephen Hawking Hopes on Humanity
Hommage to Professor S. Hawking.
In 2006, Hawking posed an open question on the Internet: "In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?", later clarifying: "I don't know the answer. That is why I asked the question, to get people to think about it, and to be aware of the dangers we now face."
Hawking expressed concern that life on Earth is at risk from a sudden nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus, global warming, or other dangers humans have not yet thought of.[301][354] Hawking stated: "I regard it as almost inevitable that either a nuclear confrontation or environmental catastrophe will cripple the Earth at some point in the next 1,000 years", and considered an "asteroid collision" to be the biggest threat to the planet.[345] Such a planet-wide disaster need not result in human extinction if the human race were to be able to colonise additional planets before the disaster.[354] Hawking viewed spaceflight and the colonisation of space as necessary for the future of humanity.
Hawking stated that, given the vastness of the universe, aliens likely exist, but that contact with them should be avoided.[356][357] He warned that aliens might pillage Earth for resources. In 2010 he said, "If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans."
Hawking warned that superintelligent artificial intelligence could be pivotal in steering humanity's fate, stating that "the potential benefits are huge... Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. It might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks."[358][359] However, he argued that we should be more frightened of capitalism exacerbating economic inequality than robots.
Hawking was concerned about the future emergence of a race of "superhumans" that would be able to design their own evolution[345] and, as well, argued that computer viruses in today's world should be considered a new form of life, stating that "maybe it says something about human nature, that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. Talk about creating life in our own image."
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