Stephen Hawking: humanity is at risk and many of the dangers we created ourselves – BBC

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Image caption Hawking took a round of questions to warn about the dangers of scientific progress and technological.

Humanity is at risk and many of the dangers are created by ourselves.

That is, the least the Warning Professor Stephen Hawking , the famous physicist from the University of Cambridge is probably one of the most recognizable scientists of our time.

Among the scenarios highlighted by Hawking are a nuclear war, global warming and genetically modified virus

And during a session of questions from the Reith Lectures for the BBC the man who inspired the film “The theory All “also warned that more scientific and technological progress will create” new things that will go wrong “.

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Image caption The acclaimed scientist does not believe that a disaster on Earth end the human race

“Although the odds that in a given year a disaster occurs on Earth are quite low, all adds up over time ” , explained the scientist.

“(And this probability) becomes almost a certainty in the next 1,000 or 10,000 years ” he said.

According to Hawking , “then we should and we could have spread through space towards other stars, so that a disaster on Earth does not mean the end of the human race.”

“However, at least one hundred years not establish self-sustaining colonies, so we have to be very careful in this period “said

.

Many stops not seem ironic that a scientist of the stature of Hawking identifies the scientific progress as the main source of new threats.

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Image caption In the past, the physical has warned of the dangers of Artificial Intelligence.

But on previous occasions Hawking also already had indicated the possible risks of artificial intelligence can bring if it becomes powerful enough to cause the extinction of the race human.

The physical, however, also says that there are ways to deal with these challenges.

“We will not stop progressing, we will not reverse (which have progressed ), so we have to recognize hazards and control them. I’m an optimist, I believe that we can achieve “he said.

When young scientists asked advice, Hawking said they should maintain a sense of wonder about our “vast and complex” Universe.

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Image caption Hawking was speaking about a lecture on black holes.

“From my point of view, this has been a glorious time to be alive and doing research in theoretical physics . Nothing like this Eureka moment in which he discovers something that previously nobody knew “exemplified

But. also said that future generations of researchers should be aware of how scientific and technological advances are changing the world as well as help the general public to understand it.

Born in St Albans, near London, in 1942, Hawking was studying for a doctorate at the University of Cambridge when he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a type of Motor Neurone Disease.

But despite his debilitating illness has spent years searching for a theory that describes our Universe and managed to popularize science as few, transmitting his ideas to millions of people.