Stephen Hawking Reflects On Threats Facing Humankind
- 8 years ago
World-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking shared his thoughts on humankind, environment, and artificial intelligence during a recent appearance on Larry King Now.
World-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking shared his thoughts on humankind, environment, and artificial intelligence during a recent appearance on Larry King Now.
When the talk show host asks about the state of the world since they last spoke, Hawking responds, “We certainly have not become less greedy or less stupid. Six years ago, I was warning you about pollution and overcrowding. They have gotten worse since then. The population has grown by half a billion since our last meeting, with no end in sight. At this rate, it will be eleven billion by 2100.”
He goes on to say, “Air pollution has increased over the past five years. More than 80 percent of inhabitants of urban areas are exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution.”
The conversation then shifts to artificial intelligence, or AI, and Hawking tells King that he believes governments seem to be motivated by and “engaged in an A.I. arms race.”
Overall, he doesn’t “think that advances in artificial technology will necessarily be benign.”
He warns, “Once machines reach the critical stage of being able to evolve themselves, we cannot predict whether their goals will be the same as ours.”
World-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking shared his thoughts on humankind, environment, and artificial intelligence during a recent appearance on Larry King Now.
When the talk show host asks about the state of the world since they last spoke, Hawking responds, “We certainly have not become less greedy or less stupid. Six years ago, I was warning you about pollution and overcrowding. They have gotten worse since then. The population has grown by half a billion since our last meeting, with no end in sight. At this rate, it will be eleven billion by 2100.”
He goes on to say, “Air pollution has increased over the past five years. More than 80 percent of inhabitants of urban areas are exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution.”
The conversation then shifts to artificial intelligence, or AI, and Hawking tells King that he believes governments seem to be motivated by and “engaged in an A.I. arms race.”
Overall, he doesn’t “think that advances in artificial technology will necessarily be benign.”
He warns, “Once machines reach the critical stage of being able to evolve themselves, we cannot predict whether their goals will be the same as ours.”