--- title: Stephen Hawking's Speech Program Released for Free description: Intel hopes developers will innovate and expand on the base system canonical: https://time.com/4005447/stephen-hawking-speech/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-20T20:34:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:02:37.967Z article:section: Science og:title: Stephen Hawking's Speech Program Released for Free og:description: Intel hopes developers will innovate and expand on the base system og:url: https://time.com/4005447/stephen-hawking-speech/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8266b99259a1edf4/6988604bcf40a8721ac3f54c/stephen-hawking.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3191 og:image:height: 1795 og:image:alt: Cambridge Film Festival: "Hawking" - Opening Night Premiere og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Stephen Hawking's Speech Program Released for Free twitter:description: Intel hopes developers will innovate and expand on the base system twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8266b99259a1edf4/6988604bcf40a8721ac3f54c/stephen-hawking.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 04:47 video:published: 2010-11-04 section: science topics: black holes, Einstein's relativity, cosmology, universe expansion, Big Bang, nuclear fusion, human survival in space, disability in science, Antarctica, limits of physics genre: interview, Q&A tones: reflective, candid, curious, humble emotions: curiosity (high), hope (medium), nostalgia (low) sentiment: neutral audience: science enthusiasts, students, general public, physics readers people: Stephen Hawking, Jeffrey Kluger, Albert Einstein, Lucy Hawking organizations: TIME, Chilean Air Force products: The Grand Design content_suitability: health controversy [00:09-00:33] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Stephen Hawking's Speech Program Released for Free > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=9217044a-f82f-4815-88f3-61fb328ae517&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 10 Questions for Stephen Hawking [Watch (HLS stream): 10 Questions for Stephen Hawking](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/e2C6Witp.m3u8) (4:47)  _Published 2010-11-04. The renowned physicist has a new book, The Grand Design. Stephen Hawking will now take your questions._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Jeffrey Kluger for TIME presents questions submitted by viewers to physicist Stephen Hawking, who answers them through a voice synthesis system after composing responses by computer. Hawking discusses Einstein and black holes, humanity's long-term survival and the need to reach the stars, and how his physical limitations affected his work. He also addresses nuclear fusion as a future energy source, a favorite memory from Antarctica, the origin and fate of the universe, and the limits of physics in explaining human behavior. ## Key points - Hawking says Einstein's field equations imply that a large star or gas cloud would collapse into a black hole, and asks what happens if no explosion occurs to prevent it. (00:09) - Hawking believes humanity has a good chance of surviving long enough to reach nearby solar system bodies, but no other place in the solar system is as suitable as Earth. (01:46) - Hawking says he was fortunate to work in theoretical physics, one of the few areas where disability was not a serious handicap. (02:21) - Hawking would like nuclear fusion to become a practical power source, providing an inexhaustible supply of energy without pollution or global warming. (02:47) - Hawking's favorite memory is visiting Antarctica in 1997, when the Chilean Air Force flew a group of theoretical physicists to King George Island and he was taken around on a snowmobile. (03:08) - Hawking says observations indicate the universe will expand forever, getting emptier and darker, and that the universe has no end and no time before the Big Bang. (03:38) - Hawking states that while physics may explain how the universe began, it is of little use in predicting human behavior because there are far too many equations to solve. (04:09) - Hawking says he does not have answers to all of life's problems and admits he does not understand what makes people take particular actions, particularly women. (04:09) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 01:04] Introduction and Hawking's background. Kluger introduces Hawking's career, his decades-long ALS diagnosis and paralysis, his books, and how the answers were produced. - [01:04 to 01:46] Einstein and black holes. Hawking says he would ask Einstein why he rejected black holes, which his own field equations implied. - [01:46 to 02:21] Survival and reaching the stars. Hawking discusses humanity's chances of surviving and the need to reach other stars for long-term security. - [02:21 to 02:47] Disability and research. Hawking reflects on how his physical limitations affected his work and why theoretical physics suited him. - [02:47 to 03:08] Nuclear fusion hope. Hawking names nuclear fusion as the technological advance he most wants to see realized. - [03:08 to 03:38] Favorite memory from Antarctica. Hawking recounts his 1997 Antarctic trip with physicists, traveling by snowmobile. - [03:38 to 04:09] Origin and end of the universe. Hawking describes an ever-expanding universe with no end and no time before the Big Bang. - [04:09 to 04:47] Limits of physics and human behavior. Hawking says he lacks answers to life's problems and that physics cannot predict human behavior. ## Key quotes - [02:21] Stephen Hawking: "I have been very fortunate in almost everything else." - [02:47] Stephen Hawking: "It would provide an exhaustible supply of energy without pollution or global warming." - [04:09] Stephen Hawking: "While Physics and Mathematics may tell us how the Universe began, they are not much use in predicting human behavior" - [01:46] Stephen Hawking: "Let's hope we can last until then." ## Questions this video answers - What would Stephen Hawking say to Albert Einstein? [00:09] - Will human civilization survive long enough to reach deeper space? [01:46] - Do Hawking's physical limitations help or hinder his study? [02:21] - What scientific or technological advance would Hawking most like to see realized? [02:47] - Does the universe end, and what lies beyond it? [03:38] - Does Hawking feel the responsibility of having answers to life's mysteries? [04:09] ## Content suitability - health controversy [00:09-00:33]: Discusses Hawking's ALS diagnosis and paralysis. by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Aug 20, 2015 8:34 PM UTC  Professor Stephen Hawking attends the gala screening of "Hawking" on the opening night of the Cambridge Film Festival held at Emmanuel College on September 19, 2013 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. Professor Stephen Hawking attends the gala screening of "Hawking" on the opening night of the Cambridge Film Festival held at Emmanuel College on September 19, 2013 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. Karwai Tang—Getty Images by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Aug 20, 2015 8:34 PM UTC Intel has released the software Stephen Hawking uses to communicate available for free online. The famed author and physicists relies on the technology to speak, as well as perform other basic functions like browsing the internet. Hawking, 73, suffers from motor neuron disease, or Leu Gehrig’s disease, which has left him almost entirely paralyzed. Intel hopes that it can assist others with similar disabilities. Code for the software, called [Assistive Context-Aware Toolkit](https://01.org/acat) (ACAT), is available to developers for free. By open sourcing the program, Intel believes developers will innovate and expand on the base system. Hawking got an upgrade from the computing giant last year, increasing the efficiency of his system. ACAT’s upgrade works much like the predictive type features on an iPhone, allowing the software to guess what Hawking is trying to say based on what he’s already typed. ## Transcript [00:09] >>Hi. I'm Jeffrey Kluger for TIME and we're here today [00:12] to ask questions of Stephen Hawking, perhaps the [00:15] world's best known living cosmologist, physicist and [00:19] mathematician. Hawking is known as much for the [00:22] body of his work as for the obstacles he's had to [00:25] overcome to conduct that work. Ill with ALS or a [00:29] Lou Gehrig's Disease since 1962, Hawking has been [00:33] confined to a wheelchair and has been fully paralyzed [00:36] for several decades. That hasn't stopped him however [00:39] from producing six popular science books including [00:42] the recently released, The Grand Design and two [00:45] children's books written with his daughter Lucy. We [00:49] sent your questions to Dr. Hawking three weeks in [00:51] advance and in that time. He assembled his answers [00:54] one letter at a time by computer and then expressed [00:58] them through a voice synthesis system. Stephen [01:01] Hawking will now take your questions. We have a [01:04] question from Stanford Connecticut. " If somehow you [01:07] could say something to Albert Einstein, what would you [01:10] say? [01:11] >>I would ask him why he didn't believe in black [01:14] holes. The field equation of his generation [01:18] theory of relativity implies that a large star or a cloud [01:22] of gas would collapse in on itself and form a black [01:26] hole. Einstein was aware of this. But [01:30] somehow managed to convinced himself that [01:32] something like an explosion would always occur to [01:35] throw off mass and prevent the formation of a black [01:39] hole. What if there was no explosion? [01:43] >>Do you think our civilization will survive long enough [01:46] to make the leap to deeper space? [01:49] >>I think we have a good chance of surviving long [01:52] enough to call [ unk ] solar system. However, [01:57] there is nowhere else in the solar system, anything like [02:00] as suitable as the earth, so it is not clear if we would [02:04] survive if the earth was made unfit for habitation. To [02:09] insure our law in terms survival, we need to reach the [02:12] stars. That will take much longer. Let's [02:18] hope we can last until then. [02:21] >>Do you feel that your physical limitations have [02:23] helped or hindered your study? [02:26] >>Although I was unfortunate enough to get motor [02:28] neuron disease, I have been very fortunate in almost [02:32] everything else. I was lucky to be working in theoretical [02:38] physics, one of the few areas in which disability was [02:41] not a serious handicap and to had neglected with my [02:46] popular books. [02:47] >>What scientific discovery or technological [02:50] advancement would you like to see realized in your [02:52] lifetime? [02:54] >>I would like nuclear fusion to become a practical [02:57] power source. It would provide an exhaustible [03:02] supply of energy without pollution or global warming. [03:06] >>I guess everyone here will be asking you questions [03:08] about the deepest mysteries of the Universe, so I will [03:11] ask something more mundane. What is your favorite [03:14] memory? [03:16] >>It was when I visited Antarctica 1997. The [03:21] Chilean Air Force flew a group of theoretical physicists [03:25] down to their base on King George's Island off the [03:29] Antarctica Peninsula. My wheelchair didn't-- has [03:33] no change but they took me round on a snow mobile. [03:38] >>Does the Universe end? If so, what is beyond it? [03:43] >>Observations indicate that the Universe is [03:45] expanding at another increasing rate. It will [03:49] expand forever getting emptier and darker. All [03:53] those, the universe doesn't have an end and a [03:56] beginning of the Bing Bang. One might asks what is [04:00] before that. But the answer is that there is nowhere [04:03] before the Bing Bang, and thus has there is nowhere [04:07] south of the south pole. [04:09] >>Does it feel like a huge responsibility to have [04:11] people expecting you to have all the answers to all of [04:14] life's mysteries? [04:16] >>I certainly don't have the answers to all the life's [04:19] problems. While Physics and Mathematics may [04:23] tell us how the Universe began, they are not much use [04:26] in predicting human behavior, because they are far too [04:31] many equations to solve. 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