Stephen Hawking: Humans Ruined the Earth and Must Escape to Space One thousand years. That's all the third rock from the sun may have left.

By Kim Lachance Shandrow

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Sheryl Nadler | REUTERS

That's it. We're cooked. Stephen Hawking says humans are going to hell in a handbasket and we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Our generation's Einstein is once again predicting a terribly grim future for planet Earth. Hawking warns that we, the people -- the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad humans thrashing the third rock from the sun -- must abandon ship and escape to space.

"Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it adds up over time, and becomes a near certainty in the next 1,000 or 10,000 years," Hawking said during his recent BBC Reith Lecture, which airs on Jan. 26. "By that time we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race."

Related: Stephen Hawking: Artificial Intelligence Could 'End the Human Race'

Our home's demise, he said, will be precipitated by catastrophes of our own making, including nuclear war, genetically engineered viruses and global warming. The pioneering new technologies we create -- such as artificial intelligence, if left unchecked -- will also contribute to Earth's undoing, leading to "new ways things can go wrong." New, very scary ways, if we're to believe Hawking and fellow doomsdayer geniuses beating the same drum, including Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak.

If we have any hope of saving ourselves, we'd better get busy and fast. According to Hawking's forecast, it'll take at least a century before we figure out how to survive in the great beyond. That's not much time.

"We will not establish self-sustaining colonies in space for at least the next 100 years," he said, "so we have to be very careful in this period."

Related: Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking Warn That AI Military Robots Could Ignite the Next Global Arms Race

Kim Lachance Shandrow

Former West Coast Editor

Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Government Technology magazine, LA Yoga magazine, the Lowell Sun newspaper, HealthCentral.com, PsychCentral.com and the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Coop. Follow her on Twitter at @Lashandrow. You can also follow her on Facebook here

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Fundraising

What Should You Value More — An Investor's Money or Their Experience?

On this episode of "Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch," a contestant has a very tough decision to make: Take the big money now, or gamble on bigger money later.

Leadership

If You Want People to Follow You, Stop Being a Boss — 8 Steps to Truly Effective Leadership

Understand the key differences and embark on the journey from boss to leader with these eight vital steps. This article unveils how to inspire and lead teams with passion and purpose.

Health & Wellness

Great Gift Alert: Limited-Time Deal on a Deep Tissue Massager for $69.97

Get this massager for 65% less (regularly $199) now through December 17.

Marketing

4 Marketing Budget Hacks That Will Boost Your Business in 2024

Use these tried and true tips to create a marketing budget that really moves the needle on your success in the upcoming year.

Side Hustle

This Millennial Dad Just Wanted to Help His Daughter Care for Her Bearded Dragon. Then His Cricket-Breeding Side Hustle Exploded — Earning $27,000 in One Month.

It wasn't Jeff Neal's first attempt at a side gig, and before long, the "prototypical millennial side-hustler" realized his product had major potential.

Business News

Photos Leak of McDonald's New Space Age Spinoff Restaurant 'CosMc's'

The mega fast food chain is experimenting with a galactic-themed restaurant, drawing inspiration from an alien character featured in its 1980s commercials.