by TANYA LEWIS
British scientist Stephen Hawking arrives on the red carpet for the 2015 British Academy Film Awards ceremony at The Royal Opera House in London on Feb. 8. PHOTO/Facundo Arrizabalaga/European Pressphoto Agency/The Washington Post
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 suffers from a motor neuron disease similar to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, which left him paralyzed and unable to speak without a voice synthesizer. But that hasn’t stopped the University of Cambridge professor from making proclamations about the wide range of dangers humanity faces — including ourselves.
Here are a few things Hawking has said could bring about the demise of human civilization. [End of the World? Top Doomsday Fears]
Artificial intelligence
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 letterdescribing the risks, as well as the benefits, of AI.
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