Even a wonderful genius like Mr. Hawking can go too far and publish nonsense. None of us know a thing about whether there is a god or not. We go by our feelings and not by fact. It is also a fact that no one can claim that there is not a god as it is not a thing that can be known. As far as AI being so dangerous I think that may be also irrational. Yes, AI will shake us to our core and cause massive social changes. If AI acquired power over all of humanity there is no reason to believe it would do harm at all. It might make life far better for all of us. It is the in between use of AI that will cause some grief. Think of it this way. When the automobile was first in play it destroyed the horse industry. That meant that the huge number of workers in that industry were suddenly not working at all. It was painful for those workers and that could not be helped. Today we have a very similar issue. The use of coal for all reasons needs to be totally forbidden. Only a blockhead would not understand that for states like W. Va. the public would almost have to totally abandon the state. Nobody wants those folks to suffer even more than they already have yet it is obvious that the coal industry must be shut down world wide. AI will simply bring on even larger changes and a very rapid speed. It is up to the public, not to hold back or slow down AI, . But it really is our duty to change our beliefs and our systems to prevent as much suffering as possible.

If what I read a while back was true the US Navy is already ahead on automated ships. The idea was something like an old battle barge with limited propulsion and water sloshing over the decks. It would be towed into place by a large war ship and set free for the last two or three hundred miles. It would stop at a pre determined location and wait for the weapons to be used if need be. I do not know the degree to which it is a drone or if it can attack without any human contact. Being unmanned, the danger to seamen is vastly reduced as well as this war machine not needing to carry food and sleeping areas etc..

Now if we can get many more universities having major A1 facilities we just might have aa chance of getting ahead of other nations. Build more and build them better !

To be for CO2 control while wanting economic growth is simply not possible. We must have CO2 control but we must resist all growth. That includes population growth. Pollution is a consequence of human activity. The more humans we have the more pollution we must have. So yes, we must totally change all of our economic policies and habits. And yes, wealthier people will take a harder hit than the poor. In my area it would help to freeze new construction including not allowing new rooms to be added to homes or businesses. We also need to get gas and diesel cars and trucks reduced in number quite quickly. We are left with electric vehicles or hydrogen using vehicles as a consequence. We also need to consider limiting travel and tourism to reduce emissions. We then might want to look at how close a person would be required to live to their place of employment. It will be shocking but there really is zero choice if we wish human life to survive.

People who want a broken government always push for expensive new agencies that force all kinds of tax increases. One can easily predict hundreds of new agencies as society becomes more and more complex. It won't work.

Obviously the EPA is crippled by current right wing politics. The right wing loonies should be forced to drink only water from Flint !

The US, a few years ago, put chips in top end printers, under the assumption that when they were exported that foreign governments would be the typical purchaser. So if you were in Iraq and wondered why that smart bomb picked your chimney it was due to the printer sending the address. Sometimes what goes around comes straight down right at your noggin.

So we get a message at 2 AM that Russia is sending nukes. Won't that be wonderful. That way we can be wide awake when we are vaporized. Seriously what good is it to have a nationwide alert? A local alert that a dam is about to burst might save lives but a nationwide alert will be next to useless. For example, if the mega volcano under Yellowstone decides to erupt There might be a few survivors in S. Florida and Nova Scotia so exactly what good is it to tell the nation that they are about to die?

I can understand that the high cost of start-up of indoor food production discourages many owners. So why not build smaller modules and do both indoor and outdoor crop production and gradually build more automated units so that the income flow is steady while the modernization takes place. Also, we can hope that an automated, indoor farm will be able to contain any chemical pollution instead of letting it run off and contaminate waterways etc..

Right now some nations are competitive and some are not. The same goes for individuals some are competitive and many are not. We can not ignore the soon coming changes that will leave almost everyone unemployed and neither can the developing nations. The degree of change that we must create to keep the non competitive people up and running and having real spending money is at hand. If they do not have money they can not support business nor can they support a nation a they have so little to pay taxes with. If we fail to jump on this we will be doomed unless global warming kills us first. For now the climate change deniers should explain that we now have Jaguars in Arizona as it is now warm enough for them to make their home.

As an example those that rent out a room in their homes are not bound by the anti discrimination laws. I choose to live with women and not males or a person of my own race or religion that does not violate any laws at all. Now just what can Facebook do? A room for rent posting can be for my own home or a home that I don't even live in. So now will I be discriminated against and not allowed to choose who is in my home?

Although there are some wonderful exceptions the price of the home determines the quality of the student. The kid from the 600K home is usually a better student than the kid from a 200K home. Economic freedom does not exist in the US and many innocents are deprived of what they need to turn into top scholars. In a way it is the same type of problem that we see in the courts. If you can afford large lawyer and trial expenses you will be found not guilty, get a short sentence or sent to a nice and easy prison.

I understand that the Cruise missiles once launched can function without any human input at all. They have been around for over 20 years. Police also use robotics in dangerous situations. I can imagine no better tool to protect military installations and also to advance on battle fields. They could also be of great use in areas in which drive by shootings take place. Training them to only fire at vehicles that are shooting at people would make the drive by shooting a thing of the past and the joy of a robot is that it can stay in place in all weather for a very long time.

As an alternative we simply need to announce that Trump solved all the warming issues by personally designing and insdtalling some magical technology and at least 35% of Americans can sleep tight firmly knowing that the orange lunatic has saved them completely.

High prices for internet services are also an issue. Competition is one answer. I see no reason that I can not have three or four cables running to my home. One possible consequence is local governments providing net services at no charge. The suburb I live in is over 200 miles long and with a large, dense population. That makes it hard to understand why we don't have competitive cable for all homes and businesses.