Stephen Hawking Warns Us All How We’ll Cause The End Of Civilization
Stephen Hawking has been in the news lately, especially since Eddie Redmayne, who played Hawking in the Theory of Everything won an Oscar for his portrayal of Hawking.
“Well done Eddie, I’m very proud of you.” – Stephen Hawking congratulates Eddie Redmayne. http://t.co/EkqYYgZ2HM pic.twitter.com/V0KymIPW05
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 24, 2015
But now Hawking is speaking out on more serious matters, like how we will all cease to exist.
The British theoretical physics professor spoke out this week on what he believes will be the destruction of civilization, and the answer is surprising – it’s us.
Hawking, who has shared his opinion on everything from black holes, aliens, artificial intelligence, and even Heaven, stated, according to Discovery News, that “if we, as a civilization, do not check our aggressive ways, we will be doomed.”
Stephen Hawking says that ‘aggression,’ humanity’s greatest vice, will destroy civilization http://t.co/31m0nM3kaU ? ??????? @washingtonpost
— gelovin (@gelovin) February 24, 2015
Hawking, who was touring London’s Science Museum, was questioned by a 24-year-old teacher from California. Adaeze Uyanwah,who won an international contest to be Hawking’s guest of honor asked that if Hawking could “change one shortcoming humanity has, what would it be?”
Hawking answered openly, saying, “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.”
Hawking then specified how nuclear war caused by such aggressive behavior “would be the end of civilization, and maybe the end of the human race.”
To further answer the young Uyanwah’s question, Hawking added what human civilization can do to get rid of this aggression.
Hawking went on to say that it would empathy that could save us because, “it brings us together in a peaceful, loving state.”
What is also important to saving our civilization besides more empathy? Hawking characteristically answered next saying that we also need space exploration, adding that “it is our civilization’s ‘life insurance policy.'”
“I believe that the long-term future of the human race must be space and that it represents an important life insurance for our future survival, as it could prevent the disappearance of humanity by colonizing other planets,” Hawking added.
Hawking, whose “thoughts on the biggest — and most depressing — topics of our day are in high demand” these days, has also spoken on how artificial intelligence could also mark the end of the human race according to the Washington Post.
“Once humans develop artificial intelligence, it will take off on its own and redesign itself at an ever-increasing rate…Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete and would be superseded,” said the 73-year-old genius.
This isn’t the first that Hawking has spoken about the end of civilization, and it won’t be the last. Let’s just hope that Stephen Hawking’s thoughts and predictions don’t come true too soon.
[Photo Courtesy of Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
