'There is no God,' says Stephen Hawking in final book

"He realized that people specifically wanted his answers to these questions," the scientist's daughter, Lucy Hawking, who helped complete the book, told CNN.

Hawking saw the world on the brink of a "vast transformative change" when he died, she noted, adding: "He's asking us not to go into the future blindly. How good is the track record of the human race in using advances in technology for the good of ordinary people?"

In remarks prepared by Hawking and played at the launch of the book in London on Monday, the scientist also turned his attention to the world he was leaving behind.

"With Brexit and Trump now exerting new forces in relation to immigration and the development of education, we are witnessing a global revolt against experts, and that includes scientists," Hawking said.

Hawking had been a critic of the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union, and called Donald Trump a "demagogue" in 2016.

His greatest concern, his daughter said, "is how divided we've become," adding: "He makes this comment about how we seem to have lost the ability to look outward, and we are increasingly looking inward to ourselves."

Hawking's final message to readers, though, is a hopeful one.

Attempting to answer the question "How do we shape the future?" in the book's final chapter, the scientist writes: "Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet."

Stephen Hawking attends the EE British Academy Film Awards on February 8, 2015 in London. (Intelligencer - http://nymag.com)