Stephen Hawking's Ominous Prediction About the World's End is Alarmingly Close

The Late Professor's Passionate Address Covered Nuclear Warfare, Extraterrestrial Life, and Climate Change

Stephen Hawking once issued a grave warning about potential global catastrophe, which might take you by surprise.

Regarded as one of the most brilliant minds to have ever lived, Professor Hawking, who was the former director of research at the Center for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge, passed away in 2018 at the age of 76.

One year before his death, the visionary physicist warned that unchecked population growth and increasing energy demands could trigger catastrophic events, potentially turning the Earth into a ‘giant ball of fire’.

Speaking at the 2017 Tencent WE Summit, he noted that there was ‘no sign’ of scientific or technological progress slowing or halting in the foreseeable future.

“Certainly not by the era of Star Trek, which is merely about 300 years away.

However, the current exponential growth cannot persist for the next millennium.

Stephen Hawking once shared his thoughts on how the Earth might face its demise

“By 2600, the global population would be so dense that people would be standing shoulder to shoulder, and the energy consumption would cause the Earth to glow red-hot. This situation is unsustainable,” he stated.

Hawking further warned that if you lined up all the new books being published, you’d have to travel at 90 miles per hour just to keep up with the end of the line.

“By 2600, new artistic and scientific creations will likely be digital rather than physical books and papers.

“However, if exponential growth persists, there would be ten papers a second in my field of theoretical physics, leaving no time to read them.”

Hawking explained to the audience that if population growth continues at its current pace, humanity could destroy itself through a catastrophe like a nuclear war.

Nuclear warfare remains a significant threat, with nine countries, including the United States, Russia, and North Korea, possessing nuclear weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has increasingly leveraged the threat of Russia’s nuclear arsenal to influence the West regarding its military and diplomatic support for Ukraine, as reported by the House of Commons Library.

But according to Hawking, nuclear threats aren't the sole danger to Earth. We also have to consider the possibility of aliens.

“There’s a grim joke that suggests we haven’t been contacted by extraterrestrials because when a civilization reaches our level of development, it becomes unstable and self-destructs,” the professor noted.

“It’s possible that UFOs do indeed contain aliens, as many believe, and the government is covering it up. I couldn’t possibly comment!”

In addition to blaming technological advancements and aliens, Hawking suggested that the world could end due to more frequent pandemics and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).

The professor asserted that the advancement of AI might alter life as we know it

Based on statistics gathered by Pew Research Center, an astonishing 79 percent of people in the United States engage with AI almost constantly or several times daily.

Furthermore, according to a UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report, the global AI market is projected to escalate from $189 billion in 2023 to $4.8 trillion by 2033.

In a different interview, Hawking acknowledged climate change as a significant factor in humanity’s potential demise.

During a 2016 BBC interview, the father-of-three disclosed: “Although the likelihood of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it accumulates over time and becomes nearly certain in the next thousand or 10,000 years.”

He linked his forecast to global warming and the greenhouse effect.

According to leading scientists, Earth could be on track to surpass the symbolic 1.5-degree warming threshold in as little as three years at the current rate of carbon dioxide emissions.

While we cannot halt global warming immediately, there are actions we can take to decelerate the pace and extent of environmental stress.

The scientist also mentioned that climate change could lead to the end of the Earth

This involves transitioning your home from energy sources like oil, gas, or coal to renewable options such as wind or solar, and opting for sustainable transportation methods.

It was previously suggested that NASA supported Hawking’s predictions about the planet facing destruction.

However, the prominent space agency has refuted this association.

In a statement, NASA said: “For over 50 years, NASA has been studying our home planet, offering information that directly benefits humanity and providing observations that can only be made from space, addressing some of the areas Hawking mentioned.”