Stephen Hawking: Humans will fall behind AI
Summary: The professor warns that
humans should be genetically engineered if we are to compete with the
phenomenal growth of artificial intelligence.
Renowned British scientist Stephen Hawking has claimed that
humans should be genetically engineered if they are to compete with the
phenomenal growth of artificial intelligence.
In an interview published on Saturday by the German magazine Focus,
Professor Hawking argues that the increasing sophistication of computer
technology is likely to outstrip human intelligence in the future. He
concedes that the scientific modification of human genes could increase
the complexity of DNA and "improve" human beings.
"In contrast with our intellect, computers double their performance every 18 months," says Hawking. "So the danger is real that they could develop intelligence and take over the world."
The best-selling author of A Brief History of Time says "we should follow this road [of genetic engineering] if we want biological systems to remain superior to electronic ones."
Hawking predicted last year that genetic engineers would be able to create super-humans with larger brains and an increased IQ. His latest warning calls for the development of technologies that would allow human brains to be linked to computers, "so that artificial brains contribute to human intelligence rather than oppose it."
The 59-year-old mathematics professor is a victim of Lou Gehrig's disease -- the nerve-destroying motor neurone illness that has confined him to a wheelchair. He also holds a Cambridge University chair once held by Sir Isaac Newton.
Professor Hawking is not alone among highly reputable scientists who foresee such a future. His comments echo those of Sun Microsystems co-founder and chief scientist Bill Joy who in March 2000 warned of the potential dangers in the computer technologies he helped create.
In a Wired magazine article, Joy cautioned that the convergence of genetic engineering and computer technology could pose a very real threat to humanity and the ecosystem.
According to Joy, current advances in molecular electronics mean that by the year 2030, "we are likely to be able to build machines in quantity a million times as powerful as the personal computers of today", and imbue them with human-level intelligence.
"With the prospect of human-level computing power in about 30 years, a new idea suggests itself," wrote Joy. "I may be working to create tools which will enable the construction of the technology that may replace our species. How do I feel about this? Very uncomfortable."
Later this month sees the UK release of Stephen Spielberg's film A.I.--a science fiction creation of Stanley Kubrick's that the late director never lived to finish. Set in the mid-21st century, the film portrays a self-aware computer that saves the world from an environmental disaster caused by the Greenhouse effect.
"In contrast with our intellect, computers double their performance every 18 months," says Hawking. "So the danger is real that they could develop intelligence and take over the world."
The best-selling author of A Brief History of Time says "we should follow this road [of genetic engineering] if we want biological systems to remain superior to electronic ones."
Hawking predicted last year that genetic engineers would be able to create super-humans with larger brains and an increased IQ. His latest warning calls for the development of technologies that would allow human brains to be linked to computers, "so that artificial brains contribute to human intelligence rather than oppose it."
The 59-year-old mathematics professor is a victim of Lou Gehrig's disease -- the nerve-destroying motor neurone illness that has confined him to a wheelchair. He also holds a Cambridge University chair once held by Sir Isaac Newton.
Professor Hawking is not alone among highly reputable scientists who foresee such a future. His comments echo those of Sun Microsystems co-founder and chief scientist Bill Joy who in March 2000 warned of the potential dangers in the computer technologies he helped create.
In a Wired magazine article, Joy cautioned that the convergence of genetic engineering and computer technology could pose a very real threat to humanity and the ecosystem.
According to Joy, current advances in molecular electronics mean that by the year 2030, "we are likely to be able to build machines in quantity a million times as powerful as the personal computers of today", and imbue them with human-level intelligence.
"With the prospect of human-level computing power in about 30 years, a new idea suggests itself," wrote Joy. "I may be working to create tools which will enable the construction of the technology that may replace our species. How do I feel about this? Very uncomfortable."
Later this month sees the UK release of Stephen Spielberg's film A.I.--a science fiction creation of Stanley Kubrick's that the late director never lived to finish. Set in the mid-21st century, the film portrays a self-aware computer that saves the world from an environmental disaster caused by the Greenhouse effect.
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Talkback
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RE: Stephen Hawking: Humans will fall behind AI
sir, i m very ignorant in this matter, but i m also in support of your viewpoint. I think at this growing rate of development of artificial intelligence its not long before machines outwit humans, but if humans are genetically engineered to be more smarter wont that be a threat, even if machines get more intelligent than humans would still need a human to operate it, i mean my p.c. no matter how smart it gets will still need me to switch it on, but a group of humans aware they are more smarter than other beings of their race, wont that be a threat? if possible sir please comment -
Bots
So if we begin altering humans, creating favorable gene sequences and desirable traits at the touch of a proverbial button, what is the difference? We are then, ostensibly, creating human robots. I think of movies and books such as Gattaca, 1984, Terminator and see similarities at every turn. I am not completely opposed to genetic alteration, but how in the world will such practices be controlled? Improvements in technology, science or anything else for that matter can't be stopped, won't be stopped, and will always have both a positive AND negative side. I sure hope those in charge will remember this.
Stephen Hawking: Humans will fall behind AI | ZDNet
www.zdnet.com/.../stephen-hawking-humans-will-fall-behind-ai/116...Sep 4, 2001 – Renowned British scientist Stephen Hawking has claimed that humans should be genetically engineered if they are to compete with the ...
