Stephen Hawking may be most famous for
his work on black holes and gravitational singularities, but the world-renowned
physicist has also become known for his outspoken ideas about things that could
destroy human civilization.
Hawking is part of a small but growing
group of scientists who have expressed concerns about "strong"
artificial intelligence (AI)—intelligence that could equal or exceed that of a
human. "The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the
end of the human race," Hawking told the BBC in December 2014. The
statement was in response to a question about a new AI voice-synthesizing
system that Hawking has been using.
Hawking's warnings echo those of
billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, who has
called AI humanity's "biggest existential threat." Last month,
Hawking, Musk and dozens of other scientific bigwigs signed an open letter describing
the risks, as well as the benefits, of AI. "Because of the great potential
of AI, it is important to research how to reap its benefits while avoiding
potential pitfalls," the scientists wrote in the letter.
If our machines don't kill us, we might
kill ourselves. Hawking now believes that human aggression might destroy
civilization. "The human failing I would most like to correct is aggression.
It may have had survival advantage in caveman days, to get more
food, territory or partner with whom to reproduce, but now it threatens to
destroy us all.”
For example, a major nuclear war would
likely end civilization and could wipe out the human race, Hawking added. When
asked which human quality he would most like to magnify, Hawking chose empathy,
because "it brings us together in a peaceful, loving state."
But Hawking had made ominous warnings
even before these recent ones. Back in 2010, Hawking said that, if intelligent
alien life exists, it may not be that friendly toward humans
If aliens ever visit us, I think the
outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America,
which didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans," Hawking said.
From the threat of nefarious AI, to
advanced aliens, to hostile humans, Hawking's outlook for humanity is looking
pretty grim.
