Robots will take over Earth, says royal astronomer

IT IS a theory more likely to come from a 1980s science fiction film than the Queen’s astronomer.

But Lord Rees of Ludlow, Astronomer Royal and former President of the Royal Society, has become the latest scientific expert to warn that machines are destined to ‘take over’ the Earth.

In a chilling echo of the Terminator films, Lord Rees says within a few centuries we will enter the ‘era of the machines’.

He follows Professor Stephen Hawking who has said artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.

The Queen’s astronomer says the Earth may be inherited by the robots.

In an interview with website The Conversation, Lord Rees said: ‘If we look at our history on Earth, it has taken about 4billion years to get from the first protozoa to our current, technological civilisation. But if we look into the future, then it’s quite likely that within a few centuries, machines will have taken over – and they will then have billions of years ahead of them.’

He added: ‘In other words, the period of time occupied by organic intelligence is just a thin sliver between early life and the long era of the machines.’

Robots are already used widely on production lines, can beat us at chess, ‘write’ music, perform stand-up and are being developed to provide care for the elderly. The Terminator films even suggested humans could be killed off by cyborgs.

Asked if he believed machines will develop intelligence, Lord Rees said: ‘There are many people who would bet on it. The second question is whether that necessarily implies consciousness – or whether that is limited to the wet intelligence we have within our skulls.’

Astronomer Royal is an honorary title the Cambridge University emeritus professor has held since 1995.