Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken ov

er our lives.
Does he hope for an equal technological distribution of wealth?
Stephen Hawking/Facebook screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET
If only worries could be prioritized.
If only our minds and souls could decide that one was bigger than another and tr
eat it that way. Sometimes, though, multiple worries cascade upon us.
Physicist Stephen Hawking, though, seems to have suddenly discovered something m
ore worrisome than robots.
Last year, he was concerned that humans were evolving so slowly that artificial
intelligence might walk all over us. On Thursday, however, he found a more immed
iate concern.
In a Reddit Ask Me Anything session, Hawking offered a new disturbance in an ans
wer to a long question about technological unemployment.
"If machines produce everything we need, the outcome will depend on how things a
re distributed," he wrote. "Everyone can enjoy a life of luxurious leisure if th
e machine-produced wealth is shared, or most people can end up miserably poor if
the machine-owners successfully lobby against wealth redistribution."
Some might almost see this as a hope for technological socialism. However, Hawki
ng observed: "So far, the trend seems to be toward the second option, with techn
ology driving ever-increasing inequality."
Many have debated and will continue to debate whether technology really does dri
ve inequality or whether people adjust to new circumstances and new ingenuity br
ings new markets and new jobs, ones previously unforeseen.
Some weren't impressed with Hawking's economics and its implied politics.
"Shorter Stephen Hawking: 'For hundreds of years, people who claimed that machin
es reduce jobs have looked silly. But I'll be different!'" tweeted venture capit
alist Marc Andreesen.
Andreesen went on to suggest that "someone buy Stephen Hawking an Economics 101
textbook please."
Worries about increasing income inequality aren't without foundation. Instead of
seeming like a temporary attribute of society, it feels like something that's b
ecoming permanent. Whether technology is to blame for this isn't clear. There ar
e many factors contributing to the division of income. Greedy rich people whose
wealth doesn't trickle down terribly far might be one factor, some might say.
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Hawking, though, seems firmly on the side of those who worry that society is bec
oming permanently skewed. Still, he did find the time to address slightly lighte
r matters.
"The real risk with AI isn't malice but competence," he said, conceding that it

was "likely to be either the best or worst thing ever to happen to humanity, so
there's huge value in getting it right."
He also admitted that his favorite movie was Truffaut's "Jules Et Jim" and that
his favorite song was Rod Stewart's "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You."
It's a Van Morrison song, professor. You're not seriously suggesting that the Ro
d Stewart version is better, are you? That truly is scary.