Humanity Is Facing the ‘Most Dangerous Time’ in Human History According to Stephen Hawking

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Stephen Hawking issues a warning to humanity. The renowned Cambridge-based theoretical physicist states that the human race is facing the most dangerous time in its history and the people of Earth must unite in order to save the planet.

In an op-ed article for The Guardian, Stephen Hawking enumerated the crises that the people of Earth are facing. According to Hawking, the human race is facing environmental challenges including climate change, food production, overpopulation, the decimation of other species, epidemic disease, acidification of the oceans.

Hawking suggests that these environmental challenges are a reminder that the human species are at the most dangerous moment in the development of humanity. Hawking adds that the people of Earth need to unite and work together to protect the human race.

Hawking is optimistic that the people can save themselves. According to Hawking, it will require the "elites, from London to Harvard, from Cambridge to Hollywood, to learn the lessons of the past year." Hawking adds that the human race needs "to learn above all a measure of humanity."

When tackling the issues regarding the "lessons of the past year," Hawking quotes, as an example, the warning on Britain's Brexit vote, and the election of the US President, Donald Trump.

Hawking attributes these two events to a "cry of anger" by people who felt that they were "abandoned" by their leaders. Hawking wrote, "Whatever we might think about the decision by the British electorate to reject membership of the European Union and by the American public to embrace Donald Trump as their next president, there is no doubt in the minds of commentators that this was a cry of anger by people who felt they had been abandoned by their leaders."

According to Hawking, while human beings now have the technology to destroy the Earth, the people do not have the means to leave it behind. And while the future generation could have the ability to transplant humanity to the stars, the fact that humans are still stuck on the planet means the current generation of homo sapiens must work together to protect it.

Hawking also warned about technological developments including artificial intelligence and automation. Hawking surmised that the automation in factories will have a domino effect that will not only impact the middle class but the human society as a whole.

If the middle class lost the means for feeding their families, they would flock to other cities or other countries looking for a fresh start. The migration of these workers would then put a strain to the place where they choose to settle, thereby starting another set of dominos to go tumbling down. Hawking concluded that these technological advancements would further increase the gap in inequality.

So in order to save the human race, Stephen Hawking calls on every human being on the planet, not just the elites, to unite and work together to save the species. After all, the planet Earth is the only planet the human race has.