Stephen Hawking says ‘superhumans’ could threaten the future of humanity – Ohmymag

Updated on August 4, 2022 at 10:23 AM

In his last book, the late scientist Stephen Hawking warned of the dangers of genetic engineering. According to him, this field of research could threaten the future of humanity.

In his final book, the renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant minds of his generation, warned of the dangers of CRISPR and genetic engineering for human evolution.

In his latest - posthumous - book Brief Answers to Big Questions, Stephen Hawking offers his predictions on the future of humanity, the laws of the universe, and everything else. Is time travel possible? Should we colonise space? Does God exist? Or how do we shape the future?

Amongst these thoughts, Hawking warns of the dangers of genetic engineering:

According to Hawking, the first steps in this new phase will be limited to repairing genetic defects. More comprehensive and complex modifications, such as optimising our intelligence or physics, will take more time and energy before they can be implemented. However, we are not immune to the adverse effects of such possibilities.

Hawking fears that as this technology evolves and permeates society, it will become a source of division between human beings.

The elites who benefit from this eugenics - described by Hawking as superhumans - could directly oppose the rest of humanity in a quest for supremacy that would dictate the future management of the planet.

He explains:

According to Hawking, if they are not destined to disappear, they will probably no longer be considered worthy of interest and will find themselves at the back of humanity which is modifying its own characteristics at an ever-increasing rate.

While these predictions may seem, alarmist, they are not new to researchers working on gene-editing technologies like CRISPR. At a time when the future of the planet and the future of humans is at stake, it would be better to look at what unites us.

This article was translated from Gentside FR.

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Stephen Hawking says 'superhumans' could threaten the future of humanity - Ohmymag