Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO): Stephen Hawking Interview. Stephen Hawking Thinks These 3 Things Could Destroy Humanity. Stephen Hawking may be most famous for his work on black holes and gravitational singularities, but the world-renowned physicist has also become known for his outspoken ideas about things that could destroy human civilization. Hawking suffers from a motor neuron disease similar to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, which left him paralyzed and unable to speak without a voice synthesizer.
But that hasn't stopped the University of Cambridge professor from making proclamations about the wide range of dangers humanity faces — including ourselves. Here are a few things Hawking has said could bring about the demise of human civilization. [End of the World? Top Doomsday Fears] Artificial intelligence Hawking is part of a small but growing group of scientists who have expressed concerns about "strong" artificial intelligence (AI) — intelligence that could equal or exceed that of a human. But many AI researchers say humanity is nowhere near being able to develop strong AI.
Human aggression. How Has Stephen Hawking Lived to 70 with ALS? Stephen Hawking turns 70 on Sunday, beating the odds of a daunting diagnosis by nearly half a century. The famous theoretical physicist has helped to bring his ideas about black holes and quantum gravity to a broad public audience. For much of his time in the public eye, though, he has been confined to a wheelchair by a form of the motor-neuron disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). And since 1985 he has had to speak through his trademark computer system—which he operates with his cheek—and have around-the-clock care. But his disease seems hardly to have slowed him down. Hawking spent 30 years as a full professor of mathematics at the University of Cambridge.
And he is currently the director of research at the school's Center for Theoretical Cosmology. But like his mind, Hawking's illness seems to be singular. Why has Hawking lived so long with this malady when so many other people die so soon after diagnosis? [An edited transcript of the interview follows.] Stephen Hawking. English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author (1942–2018) Stephen William Hawking CH CBE FRS FRSA (8 January 1942 – 14 March 2018) was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who, at the time of his death, was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge.[17][18][7] Between 1979 and 2009, he was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. Hawking was born in Oxford, into a family of physicians. In October 1959, at the age of 17, he began his university education at University College, Oxford, where he received a first-class BA degree in physics. In October 1962, he began his graduate work at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where in March 1966, he obtained his PhD degree in applied mathematics and theoretical physics, specialising in general relativity and cosmology.
Early life Family Hawking was born on 8 January 1942[24][25] in Oxford to Frank and Isobel Eileen Hawking (née Walker). Career Death. Master Of The Universe Stephen Hawking Episode 1... MUST WATCH.