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Professor Stephen Hawking says humans have less than 1,000 years on Earth before we are wiped out by extinction.

The celebrated physicist said humans will only survive if another planet was found to live on.

The 74-year-old said unless this happens then humans will be wiped out in a mass extinction.

Speaking at the Oxford Union, he said: “We must also continue to go into space for the future of humanity.

"I don’t think we will survive another 1000 years without escaping beyond our fragile planet.”

(Image: Adam Gerrard/Daily Mirror)

Hawking has previously warned that humans survival is at risk from nuclear war, genetically engineered viruses and global warming, the New Zealand Herald reported.

Speaking recently, Hawking said our future would be a robot world where our children battle climate change .

The world's most influential scientist said our children have a lot to look forward to with new discoveries but also face a battle to protect the world.

He said: "There are a lot of children here and I would like to speak about what the future will be like when they are older.

"They have many things to look forward to such as the development of robots, driverless cars and computers that will win every game you play.

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However, Professor Hawking, who has inspired millions all over the world with his battle against motor neurone disease, also warned that our children face a challenging future.

Speaking at the Daily Mirror's Pride of Britain Awards after receiving a Lifetime Achievement award, he added: "They will also face many challenges such as climate change and the effect that this will have on the world. I am sure the next generation will rise to these challenges."

Despite his Black Hole theory, his landmark book A Brief History of Time selling more than 10 million copies, Professor Hawking still has one big ambition.

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He said:"My greatest ambition is to undertake a flight into space and I still hope to do that some day."

The 74-year-old previously told an audience at the Cambridge University’s David Attenborough Building that he believes artificial intelligence could destroy our society by overtaking humans.

He said: "I believe there is no deep difference between what can be achieved by a biological brain and what can be achieved by a computer.

"It therefore follows that computers can, in theory, emulate human intelligence – and exceed it.

"Artificial intelligence is now progressing rapidly.

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"Recent landmarks such as self-driving cars, or a computer winning at the game of Go, are signs of what is to come.

"Enormous levels of investment are pouring into this technology. The achievements we have seen so far will surely pale against what the coming decades will bring.”

He went on: "The potential benefits of creating intelligence are huge. We cannot predict what we might achieve, when our own minds are amplified by AI.

"Perhaps with the tools of this new technological revolution, we will be able to undo some of the damage done to the natural world by the last one - industrialisation.

"And surely we will aim to finally eradicate disease and poverty.

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"Every aspect of our lives will be transformed, in short, success in creating AI, could be the biggest event in the history of our civilisation.

"But it could also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks.

"Alongside the benefits, AI will also bring dangers, like powerful autonomous weapons, or new ways for the few to oppress the many.

"It will bring great disruption to our economy. And in the future, AI could develop a will of its own - a will that is in conflict with ours.

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"In short, the rise of powerful AI will be either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity.

"We do not yet know which. That is why in 2014, I and a few others called for more research to be done in this area. I am very glad that someone was listening to me.

"The research done by this centre is crucial to the future of our civilisation and of our species. I wish you the best of luck."

The Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (CFI) will see leading minds from around the world come together in Cambridge, to examine the impact of the development of smart machines, reports Cambridge News .

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Its launch comes after a £10 million investment from the Leverhulme Trust, which provides cash to research projects across the UK.

Prof Hawking added: "We spend a great deal of time studying history, which, let's face it, is mostly the history of stupidity.

“So it is a welcome change that people are studying instead the future of intelligence.

"Intelligence is central to what it means to be human.

“Everything that our civilisation has achieved, is a product of human intelligence, from learning to master fire, to learning to grow food, to understanding the cosmos."