Stephen Hawking's chilling AI warnings resonate today
On Wednesday, January 8, Stephen Hawking would have turned 83 years old. Unfortunately, the world-renowned physicist passed away in 2018. Before his death, he shared his vision of the future, particularly regarding the threat posed by artificial intelligence (AI) development.
Stephen Hawking is one of the most famous physicists in history. Along with Roger Penrose, he developed the concept of singularity and hypothesized that black holes can emit radiation. Despite his illness—amyotrophic lateral sclerosis—which confined him to a wheelchair and left him unable to speak, he communicated using a synthesizer and left a substantial scientific legacy.
Hawking also shared his observations on artificial intelligence. His vision of AI development was rather grim. Until the end of his life, he cautioned humanity about its dangers. In 2012, he remarked that "the development of full artificial intelligence could mean the end of the human race."
Hawking on AI: He warned humanity just before his death
AI could develop independently, redesigning itself at an ever-increasing pace. Humans, limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete and would be displaced, said Stephen Hawking when AI was just in its infancy.
His words are recalled by the portal ladbible.com. The physicist signed a letter to the UN alongside a hundred other experts, warning against uncontrolled AI development. He remained steadfast in his opinions about AI until the end of his life.
I fear that AI may completely replace humans, he mentioned a year before his death in an interview with Wired magazine.
In the book Brief Answers to the Big Questions, published several months after his passing, he wrote: "We may face an intelligence explosion that could ultimately lead to machines surpassing us in intelligence more than we surpass snails. It's tempting to dismiss the notion of highly intelligent machines as pure science fiction, but that would be a mistake—and potentially the biggest mistake in our history."
