Stephen Hawking warns: End of the world nearly certain because of man’s continuing misuse of science and technology

Author: Kresta in the Afternoon Published on: January 26, 2016 Published in: Science: Past & Present

epa03682857 British physicist, Sir Stephen Hawking speaks during the launch of a report by the charity Breathe On UK at Portcullis House in London, Britain, 30 April 2013. Breathe On UK is a charity that supports families of children on long-term ventilation. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA — epa03682857 British physicist, Sir Stephen Hawking speaks during the launch of a report by the charity Breathe On UK at Portcullis House in London, Britain, 30 April 2013.
Breathe On UK is a charity that supports families of children on long-term ventilation. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

The end of the world is gradually becoming a near certainty, according to famous theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, and human beings have no one else to blame but themselves for the way they are misusing science and technology.

In an interview with Radio Times, Hawking was asked if he thinks the world will end due to the force of nature or due to humans. The 74-year-old cosmologist replied by pointing out that human beings “face a number of threats” that are all because of our own doing, such as “nuclear war, global warming and genetically engineered viruses.”

He further warned that advances in science and technology will create “new ways things can go wrong.”

“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 10 thousand years,” Hawking said, as quoted by BBC News.