Stephen Hawking: there is no God, warns of nomadic alien invaders and AI overtaking humans
British physicist Stephen Hawking said that there is no God and that computers will overtake humans within the next century during recent interviews. In an interview with Spain’s El Pais, the world-renowned physicist said he feared aliens might destroy humanity, comparing an invasion to when Columbus turned up in the Americas.
“Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach,” Hawking told El Pais. “To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational. The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like.”
Aliens and artificial intelligence are a threat, says Stephen Hawking photo/ Brandon Jones
Hawking was asked if scientists should believe in God, Hawking responded: “I use the word, God, in an impersonal sense, like Einstein did, for the laws of nature.” This question was followed by: “Do you think humans would one day abandon religion and God?” to which he retorted: “The laws of science are sufficient to explain the origin of the universe. It is not necessary to invoke God.”
n the subject of artificial intelligence (AI), he added: “Computers will overtake humans with AI at some point within the next 100 years. When that happens, we need to make sure the computers have goals aligned with ours.
“I think the survival of the human race will depend on its ability to find new homes elsewhere in the universe, because there’s an increasing risk that a disaster will destroy Earth. I therefore want to raise public awareness about the importance of space flight. I have learnt not to look too far ahead, but to concentrate on the present. I have so much more I want to do.”
Hawking told Spanish newspaper El Mundo that science has brought us too far to believe in an all-powerful deity. “Before we understand science, it is natural to believe that God created the universe. But now science offers a more convincing explanation. What I meant by ‘we would know the mind of God’ is, we would know everything that God would know, if there were a God, which there isn’t. I’m an atheist,” he said.
[…] Read more at The Global Dispatch Related News Yankees closing in on a deal with Stephen Drew Stephen Drew didn't do much for the Yankees last season, but it was enough to earn another year in The Bronx. The Yankees were close to agreeing to a deal… … READ MORE Stephen Collins confirms child molestation claims Although Collins has apologized to one his victims, he says it's unlikely he'll approach the remaining two women for fear of "opening old wounds." Source:: Stephen Collins confirms child molestation … READ MORE Stephen Collins and Faye Grant finalize messy divorce The divorce deal came after several days of negotiating. Source:: Stephen Collins and Faye Grant finalize messy divorce READ MORE Stephen Colbert And Scarlett Johansson Answer Life’s Big Questions What's the meaning of life? Why are we here? What's Oprah doing right now?Life's full of big questions, but on Wednesday, Stephen Colbert and Scarlett Johansson finally gave us some … READ MORE Stephen Harper backs Bank of Canada rate cut, doesn’t plan fiscal stimulus Harper backs Bank of Canada rate cut, doesn't plan fiscal stimulus Source:: Stephen Harper backs Bank of Canada rate cut, doesn’t plan fiscal stimulus READ MORE Ridley Scott promises ‘Prometheus 2’ will answer questions about creation The Prometheus sequel will pick up where the first movie left off with Noomi Rapace’s Elizabeth Shaw and Michael Fassbender’s David the android headed to homeworld of the Engineers to … READ MORE Andrew Coyne: Stephen Harper ignores fixed election date law and no one seems to care Oh for the love of God, people, would you give it a rest? I have just ploughed through what I would conservatively estimate is the four hundredth column I have … READ MORE NKorea warns it has restarted all nuclear bomb fuel plants SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A day after threatening long-range rocket launches, North Korea declared Tuesday that it has upgraded and restarted all of its atomic fuel plants so it … READ MORE Yankees closing in on a deal with Stephen Stephen Collins confirms child molestation claims Stephen Collins and Faye Grant finalize messy divorce Stephen Colbert And Scarlett Johansson Answer Life’s Big Stephen Harper backs Bank of Canada rate cut, Ridley Scott promises ‘Prometheus 2’ will answer questions Andrew Coyne: Stephen Harper ignores fixed election date NKorea warns it has restarted all nuclear bomb var hupso_services_c=new Array("twitter","facebook_like","facebook_send","google");var hupso_counters_lang = "en_GB";var hupso_image_folder_url = "";var hupso_url_c="";var hupso_title_c="Stephen Hawking: there is no God, warns of nomadic alien invaders and AI overtaking humans"; […]