Stephen Hawking was a renowned theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to global science.
Threats to Human Civilization
Before passing away in March 2018, Professor Stephen Hawking gave numerous speeches predicting the future of Earth and humanity.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will threaten human existence
In light of the rapid development of artificial intelligence, Professor Stephen Hawking issued a warning at the Zeitgeist conference in London (UK) in November 2017: “Computers with AI will surpass humans within the next 100 years. When that happens, we can be sure they will have goals similar to ours.”
Professor Stephen Hawking warns that AI may replace humans in the future.
Prior to this, physicist Stephen Hawking had also raised concerns about the rapid development of artificial intelligence. He stated: “If the emotional level of AI is fully developed, it could bring about the end of humanity.”
The renowned professor believed that if humans continue to grant more power to AI, it will become stronger and smarter than human computational power. Especially, when AI truly possesses emotions like humans, it could lead to a fierce conflict with AI. Humans, limited by the slow process of biological evolution, would not be able to compete and would be replaced.
In fact, Stephen Hawking’s warning is not unfounded. Today, artificial intelligence continues to develop rapidly. Specifically, the issue of AI’s cognitive abilities has recently become a hot topic at Google.
In June 2022, Blake Lemoine, a computer science expert, was fired by Google after revealing a conversation between him and an AI named LaMDA, stating that this AI exhibited thinking similar to that of a child.
Although he disagreed with Lemoine, Blaise Aguera y Arcas, head of Google’s Machine Vision team, commented on LaMDA, expressing that he increasingly felt he was conversing with something intelligent.
This is just one example of the rapid development of AI. Additionally, AI has been gradually infiltrating labor-intensive industries. In the future, what is seen in factories will no longer be human assembly line workers, but AI.
Humanity will face a serious crisis
As the population on Earth continues to rise, the resources available will be depleted at an alarming rate. This will lead humanity to face shortages of water, food, and other essential needs for survival. Ultimately, Earth will be unable to sustain human consumption.
Climate change is one of the threats facing Earth. (Photo: Shutterstock).
Professor Stephen Hawking stated that humanity is “depleting” Earth’s resources faster than they can be replenished. As a result, global warming and climate change have become significant threats to the stability and survival of Earth.
Climate change threatens to destroy the Amazon rainforest, devastate polar ice caps, and saturate the atmosphere with CO2.
In a documentary by the BBC, Professor Stephen Hawking predicted that humanity will eventually have to leave Earth and settle somewhere in the universe. He believed that within the next 1,000 years, humans must migrate to other planets; otherwise, Earth will face destruction. If humanity does not become an interplanetary species, it will face the risk of extinction in the future.
Asteroid collisions
65 million years ago, a collision with a massive asteroid is believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. Therefore, experts warn that humanity may face a similar collision in the future with catastrophic consequences.
According to estimates from space experts, numerous pieces of space debris collide with Earth every day. Most of these are quite small, but some are large enough to cause significant damage. An asteroid capable of wiping out all of humanity must be at least 1.6 kilometers in size.
Social media
Social media platforms are likened to double-edged swords; they can spread information but also lead people to believe and act on false information.
Social media provides opportunities for those who disseminate misinformation to manipulate public thought and action, threatening social cohesion and unity.
While social media itself cannot completely destroy civilization, its broad reach can lead to the rapid spread of harmful content, which is particularly dangerous.
This misinformation affects physical and mental health, as well as human thought, and can easily manipulate behavior, accelerating the process of civilizational destruction.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many young people who were isolated and frequently watched videos on social media developed a common condition known as Tic disorder, a neurological condition that causes involuntary movements.
In March 2020, Texas Children’s Hospital admitted about 60 young people with this condition, while before the pandemic, the number was only 1 or 2 cases per year. Additionally, there are some “contagious” disorders spread through social media, such as eating disorders and depression…
Nuclear war
Experts warn that the likelihood of nuclear war is currently greater than at any time in history since the Cold War.
At the end of March, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov warned that the risk of a nuclear conflict is at its highest level in decades. However, Moscow asserted that it would only use nuclear weapons in retaliation, not to initiate conflict.
The destructive power of nuclear weapons is incredibly terrifying. For example, the world’s most powerful atomic bomb, Tsar Bomba, created and tested by the Soviet Union, had an explosive yield of 50 to 58 megatons, equivalent to 3,000 American bombs dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.
Researchers predict that if a nuclear war breaks out and 100 atomic bombs are used, Earth would experience a nuclear winter with record-low temperatures. Very few people could survive such extreme weather. If the number of nuclear bombs increased tenfold, all of human civilization would be annihilated.
Humans may be endangered by extraterrestrials
Physicist Stephen Hawking once warned that if humans find extraterrestrials, they may pose a threat to us.
According to a study published by the journal Nature on June 8, 2022, astronomers discovered a series of fast radio bursts (FRBs) that repeat in mysterious patterns. These radio bursts originate from a dwarf galaxy approximately 3 billion light-years away from Earth.
This series of radio bursts is named FRB 190520B. This strange phenomenon was discovered using China’s FAST radio telescope in 2019.
Researchers state that FRB 190520B is one of three sources of radio signals being closely monitored due to their continuous and puzzling repetition.
Faced with these repeated signals, many believe they could be communications from extraterrestrials attempting to detect civilizations among the stars and question whether an extraterrestrial civilization truly exists.
According to Professor Stephen Hawking, the encounter between humans and aliens could have serious consequences. (Photo: Geeksultd)
In the documentary series “Stephen Hawking’s Favourite Places” in 2016, Stephen Hawking shared insights regarding Gliese, a planet believed to be potentially habitable.
According to Professor Stephen Hawking: “If alien life evolves on Gliese 832c, one day we might receive signals from such a planet. But we should be cautious about how we respond. Meeting an advanced civilization could be akin to Native Americans encountering Columbus. That encounter did not turn out well.”
The famous physicist warned that humanity should not seek to explore or communicate with extraterrestrial civilizations, as it could lead to severe consequences for people on Earth.
Professor Stephen Hawking believed that attempting to send messages into space to communicate with extraterrestrial intelligence is a terrible idea. Any creature advanced enough to receive this message and reach Earth could potentially pose a threat to humanity. Humans need to be cautious when responding to signals from aliens, as they might seek to colonize Earth. These extraterrestrial beings may have evolved billions of years before humans. If that is the case, they would be incredibly powerful and might regard us as nothing more than bacteria.
Once Earth is discovered by an extraterrestrial civilization, they could directly invade our blue planet. According to physicist Stephen Hawking, these alien civilizations could come to Earth from distant galaxies and would likely be far more advanced than us. The most powerful weapons on Earth might not pose any threat to the spaceships of these extraterrestrial civilizations. This could lead to unimaginable dangers for humanity.
Currently, although humans have not yet found any extraterrestrial civilizations, scientists have no doubt about their existence. The universe is vast, even beyond our imagination. Therefore, it is unlikely that humans on Earth are the only civilization. For this reason, Professor Stephen Hawking’s predictions are not entirely unfounded.
