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

Famed physicist Stephen Hawking struck a surprisingly political tone when asked this week what his message would be to President Donald Trump.

Hawking spoke to WIRED on a wide range of topics in a new interview, directly addressing Trump’s stance on climate change—perhaps unsurprising given his well-known concerns about the future of our planet. But he also questioned the president’s travel ban.

“This blanket ban is ineffective and prevents America from recruiting skilled people from these countries,” Hawking said, adding that it “does not include America’s allies like Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which are allegedly helping to fund ISIS.”

Hawking also urged the president not to deny climate change.

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Last July, Hawking warned of the consequences for the entire planet following Trump’s announcement that the United States would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.

Hawking noted that the Earth could become uninhabitable in the future if evidence regarding climate change is ignored.

“Trump’s action could push the Earth to the brink of collapse, to the point of becoming like Venus, with temperatures of 250 degrees and raining sulfuric acid,” he told BBC News.

“Climate change is one of the greatest dangers we face and we can avoid it if we act now,” Hawking added.

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

But Hawking said he believed the position was part of an attempt to appeal to an electorate motivated by what he sees as an “anti-science” movement.

“People are suspicious of science because they don’t understand how it works. It seems that we are living in a time where science and scientists are in danger of being held in low esteem and losing their value,” he added in the interview. “That could have serious consequences. I don’t see why that should be the case, because our society is increasingly governed by science and technology, and yet fewer and fewer young people seem to want to pursue careers in science.”

The president, for his part, has publicly expressed skepticism about climate change, in the past calling it a “hoax.”

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

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

“I fear that artificial intelligence will completely replace man. If people design computer viruses, someone will design an artificial intelligence that can replicate itself,” Hawking said. “It will be a new form of life that will surpass man.”