Professor Hawking says humanity has less than 1,000 years left until EXTINCTION
Famous boffin warns that we need to start planning our escape from 'fragile planet' soon
WE have less than 1,000 years to escape planet earth or face extinction, Professor Stephen Hawking has warned.
The world's smartest man said the future of humanity lies in space and we must plan our escape over the next few centuries.
It is the latest warning from Prof Hawking -- a leading theoretical physicist and author of A Brief History of Time -- for humankind to prepare for the possibility of extinction.
He recently warned that artificial intelligence could bring about our demise as machines rise up and overtake us in the evolutionary race.
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Speaking to the Oxford Union on Monday, the boffin said that 2016 is a "glorious time to be alive and doing research into theoretical physics".
But he gave a stark warning for what the near future holds, saying: "We must also continue to go into space for the future of humanity.
“I don’t think we will survive another 1,000 without escaping beyond our fragile planet.”
However, he ended his talk will a positive call for optimism and intellectual curiosity.
“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious", he told the hall packed with students.
"However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”
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