The famous physicist Stephen Hawking died in 2018 at the age of 76. He was not only an intellectual leader in the study of black holes, quantum mechanics and physical cosmology, but also acted as an active popularizer, whose books on space became bestsellers.
We still have his books, numerous appearances on television, radio and the stage, in which he talked about how he sees the future. Let's get acquainted with the five of his predictions.
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AI will become the “worst idea”
Stephen Hawking died on March 14, 2018 at the age of 76
At a technical conference in Lisbon (Portugal), Hawking warned that artificial intelligence (AI) could be “the worst event for humanity.” He believed that the AI is able to learn to infinity, which will lead to superiority over human intelligence.
Hawking said:
“Successful development of AI will be the biggest event in the history of our civilization or worse. We are not sure that he will turn into an eternal helper and servant. It is likely that with sufficient development the AI will consider us a threat and destroy ”.
The physicist was really afraid that one day the AI would replace people. By the way, this topic is now worried about Ilona Mask. Interestingly, both men approved a list of 23 principles that should guide the AI.
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Meeting the aliens will not end well
Hawking believed that when meeting aliens, we had better run as far as possible. And this idea is not caused by confidence in the cruelty of aliens, but rather by observing people. The arrival of Christopher Columbus to America caused real chaos among the locals. The alien colonists will be the same problem for earthlings.
Hawking said:
“We need to look at ourselves in order to understand how extraterrestrial intelligent life will react to less developed beings. I think aliens should travel in giant space ships. They will be nomads seeking to conquer and colonize any of the planets. ”
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Meeting with aliens will not happen soon
Stephen Hawking was not an alien fan.
The scientist was afraid of this meeting, but was sure that it would not happen soon. He believed that the next 20 years would remain free from invasion.
“The probability of finding extraterrestrial life is incredibly low. However, the recent discoveries of the Kepler mission demonstrate that only in the Milky Way galaxy there are billions of inhabited planets. If you take the visible Universe, the number increases significantly ”.
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Our time is running out
Hawking claimed that over the next 1000-10000 years, people would not only inhabit the solar system, but also go beyond it. And this forecast pleased him, because the Earth risks to collide with an asteroid or be destroyed in the explosion of a nearby supernova. For a human species to survive, it needs to settle in other star systems. But there is a very creepy scenario. In 2017, Hawking said that you need to prepare for the Earth crisis in the next 200-500 years.
“We are running out of space on the planet. What we can do? Swiftly explore other worlds! It's time to get out of the solar system. Only in this way will it be possible to save our own species from us ”.
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Death of the planet from climate change
Hawking was a supporter of the idea that climate change could be the end for our planet. However, the scientist was still optimistic. He saw the threat, but did not say that it would happen.
“We are close to a critical point when global warming becomes irreversible. Climate change is one of the greatest dangers we run the risk of facing. But it can be prevented if you start to act immediately ”.
Hawking believed that world leaders should adhere to the rules set out in the Paris Agreement. The physicist believed that we were balancing on the edge, but there was still an opportunity to turn back.
