THE 10 BIG QUESTIONS

1. Is there a God? “There is no God. No one directs the universe.”

2. How did it all begin? “In a hot Big Bang.”

3. Is there other intelligent life in the Universe? “There are forms of intelligent life out there. We need to be wary of answering back until we have developed a bit further.”

4. Can we predict the future? “No and yes. In principle the laws allow us to predict the future but in practice it is too difficult.”

5. What is inside a Black Hole? “Falling into a black hole is definitely bad news. If it were a stellar mass black hole you would be made into spaghetti before reaching the horizon.”

6. Is Time Travel Possible? “Travel back in time can’t be ruled out according to our present understanding.”

7. Will we survive on Earth? “The present world order has a future but it will be a very different one.”

8. Should we colonize space? “I expect within the next hundred years we will be able to travel to anywhere in the Solar System.”

9. Will Artificial Intelligence outsmart us? “A super-intelligent AI will be extremely good at accomplishing goals and if those goals aren’t aligned with ours we’re in trouble.”

10. How do we shape the future? “Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet.”