Hey Stephen, I am sure God appreciates the heads up....
Stephen Hawking just put an expiration date on Earth
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Posted by Chris PastrickNov 18, 2016
Talk about a buzzkill.
Stephen Hawking, renowned theoretical physicist and frequent "Simpsons" guest star, dropped a doozy on us this week: We've only got about 1,000 years left before Earth is toast.
And that's only if we can survive the rise of artificial intelligence, the ravages of climate change and the threat of nuclear terrorism in the next century.
Damn!
"We must ... continue to go into space for the future of humanity," the 74-year-old Cambridge professor said during a speech Tuesday at Oxford University Union, according to the Daily Express.
Basically, he's saying if we don't find another planet to colonize before the 1,000 years, we're sure to face another mass-extinction-level event — you know, like a meteor.
"I don't think we will survive another 1,000 years without escaping beyond our fragile planet," he added.
During his hour-long speech, Hawking told the audience that Earth's cataclysmic end may be hastened by humankind, which will continue to devour the planet's resources at unsustainable rates, the Express reported.
His wide-ranging talk touched upon the origins of the universe and Einstein's theory of relativity, as well as humanity's creation myths and God. Hawking also discussed "M-theory," which Leron Borsten of PhysicsWorld.com explains as "proposal for a unified quantum theory of the fundamental constituents and forces of nature."
Yeah, whatever. Back to that "get outta Dodge" part.
Speaking to audience members in a public Q&A session ahead of the annual BBC Reith Lectures, Hawking also said that leaving the planet behind was our best hope for survival.
The key, he noted, was surviving the precarious century ahead.
"Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it adds up over time, and becomes a near certainty in the next thousand or ten thousand years. By that time, we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race."
It's not that we haven't been looking. Since 2009, NASA has been hunting for Earthlike planets with the potential for human colonization. Researchers have discovered more than 4,600 "candidate" planets and another 2,300 or so confirmed planets, according to the agency.
"The first exoplanet orbiting another star like our sun was discovered in 1995," according to NASA. "Exoplanets, especially small Earth-size worlds, belonged within the realm of science fiction just 21 years ago. Today, and thousands of discoveries later, astronomers are on the cusp of finding something people have dreamt about for thousands of years."
Before we have a chance to relocate, Hawking says, we'll first need to solve the potential threat created by technology.
Hawking thinks technology can help humanity survive. But he also sees the danger.
And he's talking "Terminator"-style SkyNet shit.
"I think the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race," Hawking told the BBC in a 2014 interview that touched upon everything from online privacy to his affinity for his robotic-sounding voice.
Despite its current usefulness, he cautioned, further developing A.I.could prove a fatal mistake.
"Once humans develop artificial intelligence, it will take off on its own and redesign itself at an ever-increasing rate," Hawking warned in recent months. "Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete and would be superseded."
Stephen Hawking just put an expiration date on Earth
Like UpGruv on Facebook
Posted by Chris PastrickNov 18, 2016
Talk about a buzzkill.
Stephen Hawking, renowned theoretical physicist and frequent "Simpsons" guest star, dropped a doozy on us this week: We've only got about 1,000 years left before Earth is toast.
And that's only if we can survive the rise of artificial intelligence, the ravages of climate change and the threat of nuclear terrorism in the next century.
Damn!
"We must ... continue to go into space for the future of humanity," the 74-year-old Cambridge professor said during a speech Tuesday at Oxford University Union, according to the Daily Express.
Basically, he's saying if we don't find another planet to colonize before the 1,000 years, we're sure to face another mass-extinction-level event — you know, like a meteor.
"I don't think we will survive another 1,000 years without escaping beyond our fragile planet," he added.
During his hour-long speech, Hawking told the audience that Earth's cataclysmic end may be hastened by humankind, which will continue to devour the planet's resources at unsustainable rates, the Express reported.
His wide-ranging talk touched upon the origins of the universe and Einstein's theory of relativity, as well as humanity's creation myths and God. Hawking also discussed "M-theory," which Leron Borsten of PhysicsWorld.com explains as "proposal for a unified quantum theory of the fundamental constituents and forces of nature."
Yeah, whatever. Back to that "get outta Dodge" part.
Speaking to audience members in a public Q&A session ahead of the annual BBC Reith Lectures, Hawking also said that leaving the planet behind was our best hope for survival.
The key, he noted, was surviving the precarious century ahead.
"Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it adds up over time, and becomes a near certainty in the next thousand or ten thousand years. By that time, we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race."
It's not that we haven't been looking. Since 2009, NASA has been hunting for Earthlike planets with the potential for human colonization. Researchers have discovered more than 4,600 "candidate" planets and another 2,300 or so confirmed planets, according to the agency.
"The first exoplanet orbiting another star like our sun was discovered in 1995," according to NASA. "Exoplanets, especially small Earth-size worlds, belonged within the realm of science fiction just 21 years ago. Today, and thousands of discoveries later, astronomers are on the cusp of finding something people have dreamt about for thousands of years."
Before we have a chance to relocate, Hawking says, we'll first need to solve the potential threat created by technology.
Hawking thinks technology can help humanity survive. But he also sees the danger.
And he's talking "Terminator"-style SkyNet shit.
"I think the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race," Hawking told the BBC in a 2014 interview that touched upon everything from online privacy to his affinity for his robotic-sounding voice.
Despite its current usefulness, he cautioned, further developing A.I.could prove a fatal mistake.
"Once humans develop artificial intelligence, it will take off on its own and redesign itself at an ever-increasing rate," Hawking warned in recent months. "Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete and would be superseded."
