Stephen Hawking issued a warning to humanity prior to his passing, and it feels more timely than ever.

2018 saw the passing of Hawking, whose passing was a great loss to science and humanity.

The physicist’s discoveries have greatly aided our understanding of the Big Bang, black holes, and the creation of the universe.

But before he passed away, Hawking expressed a number of dire prophecies about the future of humanity and how unbridled technology could mean the end of our civilization.

In a 2014 interview with the BBC, Hawking sounded a grave warning regarding the possible risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI).

He said: “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.”

AI will someday outsmart humans, according to Hawking’s prediction, which appears alarmingly accurate at the moment.

Indeed, recent developments in AI have demonstrated the enormous potential of this technology.

Whether we like it or not, artificial intelligence (AI) is pervasive in our daily lives and is only growing.

Hawking elaborated on his concerns, warning that AI “would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever-increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete, and would be superseded.”

Hawking signed an open letter to the UN in 2015 calling on the international community to control the advancement of AI. There were 100 experts who signed the letter.

Elon Musk, the creator of SpaceX, who has also advocated for strict AI regulations, was one of the signatories.

One year before his death, in a 2017 interview with Wired magazine, Hawking reiterated his fears, stating: “I fear AI may replace humans altogether.”

In his book Brief Answers to the Big Questions, which was published after his death, Hawking vividly described a possible future in which machines may be far more intelligent than people.

“We may face an intelligence explosion that ultimately results in machines whose intelligence exceeds ours by more than ours exceeds that of snails,” he stated.

Hawking warned against writing off the concept of artificially intelligent robots as science fiction or science fiction alone, as this could be “our worst mistake ever.”

Unrelatedly, but in a collection of essays, Hawking expressed alarm about the prevalence of heart disease and obesity in the largely sedentary first world, writing: “At the moment, humanity faces a major challenge, and millions of lives are in danger.”

“I see the world as a whole, and I am here to address one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century. Today, too many people die from complications related to weight and obesity. We eat too much and move too little.”

“Fortunately, the solution is simple: more physical activity and a change in diet. This is not rocket science, and for what its worth, how being sedentary has become a major health problem is beyond my understanding.”

To put it briefly, we need to monitor AI while also taking care of our health.