- 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."
-
-
- http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,545653,00.html
-
-
-
- MainPage
http://www.rense.com
-
-
-
- This
Site Served by TheHostPros
|