Stephen Hawking has a message for Donald Trump and a warning about the future

Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking took a surprisingly political tone when asked this week what his message for President Donald Trump would be.

Hawking spoke with WIRED on a wide range of topics in a new interview, directly addressing Trump's stance on climate change -- arguably unsurprising given his well known concerns over our planets future. But he also called the president's travel ban into question.

"This blanket ban is inefficient and prevents America from recruiting skilled people from these countries,” Hawking said, while adding, it “doesn’t include America’s allies such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which allegedly help finance Daesh."

Hawking also urged the president to not deny climate change.

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Back in July, Hawking warned about the consequences for the entire planet in the wake of Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.

Hawking noted that Earth could become uninhabitable in the future if the evidence concerning the changing weather patterns is ignored.

“Trump’s action could push the Earth over the brink, to become like Venus, with a temperature of 250 degrees and raining sulfuric acid,” he told the BBC News.

“Climate change is one of the great dangers we face and it’s one we can prevent if we act now,” Hawking further noted.

However, the physicist said Trump’s decision to withdraw from the agreement puts the humanity at a greater risk for irreversible damage from the effects of climate change.

But Hawking said that he believes the stance is part of an attempt to appeal to an electorate driven by what Hawking considers an "anti-science" movement.

"People distrust science because they don't understand how it works. It seems as if we are now living in a time in which science and scientists are in danger of being held in low, and decreasing, esteem," he added in the interview. "This could have serious consequences. I am not sure why this should be as our society is increasingly governed by science and technology, yet fewer young people seem to want to take up science as a career."

The president, meanwhile, has publicly expressed skepticism about climate change, dismissing it in the past as a “hoax.”

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In his speech announcing the withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement on June 1, Trump cited America’s self-interest as the primary reason for the decision.

The physicist also touched on other issues, including warning about the potentially devastating consequences of artificial intelligence.

“I fear that AI may replace humans altogether. If people design computer viruses, someone will design AI that replicates itself,” Hawking said. “This will be a new form of life that will outperform humans.”