Through his recent prediction that humanity may have only 1,000 years left on Earth before encountering the great risk of another mass extinction, the renowned theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking has stressed that humankind continues to devour the planet’s resources at unsustainable rates.
During a speech last week at Oxford University Union, the wheelchair-bound 74-year-old Cambridge professor felt humans ‘must…. continue to go into space for the future,’ indicating that we have to find another planet to colonise, The Washington Post reported, quoting the Daily Express.
Hawking had told the BBC in an interview in 2014 that he feared the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race. He has now forecast the 1,000 year deadline, ‘if humanity survives the rise of artificial intelligence, the ravages of climate change and the threat of nuclear terrorism in the next century.”
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.”
Since 2009, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), the US space agency, has been hunting for Earth-like planets with the potential for human colonisation. Researchers have discovered more than 4,600 “candidate” planets and another 2,300 or so confirmed planets. 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,” Hawking said.
Before we have a chance to relocate, Hawking says, we’ll first need to solve the potential threat created by technology. While Hawking thinks technology has the capacity to ensure mankind’s survival, previous statements suggest the cosmologist is simultaneously grappling with the potential threat it poses.
In January, he cautioned developments in science and technology are producing “new ways things can go wrong”. He also estimated self-sustaining human colonies on Mars would not be constructed for another 100 years, meaning the human race must be “very careful” in the time before then.
However, Hawking finished his lecture with a more galvanising message encouraging students to explore the mysteries of the universe not yet solved.
“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”
Hawking’s conclusion also provides food for thought, while debate around his latest warning would continue around the world.