Stephen Hawking

“Life would be tragic if it weren't funny.”

“As Irving Good realised in 1965, machines with superhuman intelligence could repeatedly improve their design even further, triggering what Vernor Vinge called a 'singularity.'”

“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.”

“I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first.”

“There is a real danger that computers will develop intelligence and take over. We urgently need to develop direct connections to the brain so that computers can add to human intelligence rather than be in opposition.”

“It is not clear that intelligence has any long-term survival value.”

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”

“Keeping an active mind has been vital to my survival, as has been maintaining a sense of humor.”

“It was Einstein's dream to discover the grand design of the universe, a single theory that explains everything. However, physicists in Einstein's day hadn't made enough progress in understanding the forces of nature for that to be a realistic goal.”