Hawking, who was so much in tune with the universe, has repeatedly warned humans about threats during recent years. As the genius departs, a look at some of his biggest warnings for man and earth.
2017 saw the launch of one of the biggest searches for extraterrestrial life—Breakthrough Listen Project—which scans the universe for radio signals. Though funded by Hawking, he had a word of caution for seekers of intelligent life who want to communicate with them. Reaching out to advanced civilisations could put earth in a risky position.
“As I grow older I am more convinced than ever that we are not alone. After a lifetime of wondering, I am helping to lead a new global effort to find out,” Hawking says in the film while exploring Gliese 832c, a planet that lies 16 light-years away and might foster alien life.
“The Breakthrough Listen project will scan the nearest million stars for signs of life, but I know just the place to start looking. One day we might receive a signal from a planet like Gliese 832c, but we should be wary of answering back,” he said in an online film titled Stephen Hawking’s Favourite Places.
Hawking likens our encounter with aliens to that of the Native Americans meeting Christopher Columbus—it didn’t “turn out so well”. Hawking has warned that if an alien civilisation can pick up our signals, they might have the potential to be billions of years more advanced than humans, making us soft targets for an invasion.
Picture Credit : Google
