Alter our DNA or robots will take over, warns Hawking
Special report: the ethics of genetics
Nick Paton Walsh
Sunday September 2, 2001
The Observer
Stephen Hawking, the acclaimed scientist and writer, reignited the debate over
genetic engineering yesterday by recommending that humans change their DNA
through genetic modification to keep ahead of advances in computer technology
and stop intelligent machines from 'taking over the world'.
He made the remarks in an interview with the German magazine Focus. Because
technology is advancing so quickly, Hawking said, 'computers double their
performance every month'. Humans, in contrast, are developing much more
slowly, and so must change their DNA make-up or be left behind. 'The danger is
real,' he said, 'that this [computer] intelligence will develop and take over
the world.'
Hawking, author of the best-selling A Brief History Of Time and a professor of
mathematics at Cambridge University, recommended 'well-aimed manipulation' of
human genes. Through this humans could 'raise the complexity of... the DNA
[they are born with], thereby improving people'. He conceded the road to
genetic modification would be a long one but said: 'We should follow this road
if we want biological systems to remain superior to electronic ones.'
He also advocated cyber-technology - direct links between human brains and
computers. 'We must develop as quickly as possible technologies that make
possible a direct connection between brain and computer, so that artificial
brains contribute to human intelligence rather than opposing it.'
While scientists are excited by the huge possibilities of genetic engineering
and human interaction with machines, ethicists urge caution as the experiments
could go wrong.
Sue Mayer, director of policy research group Genewatch, rounded on Hawking's
remarks. 'He is trying to take the debate about genetic engineering in the
wrong direction,' she said. 'It is naive to think that genetic engineering
will help us stay ahead of computers.'
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001
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