<p>He didn't have any major impact on computer science.</p>

<p>His writing in computer science are limited to popsci and more recently raising public concerns about AI.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-15T11:52:07.593Z
Stating that he didn't have *any* major impact requires some evidence. As pointed out in the comments, his contribution to information theory may be such a contribution. But I will edit the post to regard the AI concerns.
Shaull
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-16T00:11:20.017Z
@Shaull `Stating that he didn't have any major impact requires some evidence.` It's hard to demonstrate that something did _not_ happen.
Thomas Steinke
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2018-03-16T09:10:01.817Z
@Thomas - Indeed, it's very hard. That's why I think such an answer is not entirely believable without substantial evidence. 
Moreover, who is to tell whether Hawking's work won't have any impact in the future?
Point is - while the question is phrased as "is there any impact", my intention was "give examples of impact, if you know of any". In the same sense that when someone asks you whether you know what time it is, you don't answer "yes".
Shaull
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-15T01:24:56.030Z
2018-03-15T01:24:56.030Z
Anonymous
<p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole_information_paradox" rel="noreferrer">Black Hole Information Paradox</a> seems relevant to me, as it concerns information theory, which can be seen as close to computer science.</p>

<p>To sum up, the paradox in question is that when objects or in general waves carrying information are swallowed by a black hole, the information they carry seems to be destroyed. This violates principles in quantum physics, roughly saying that information must be preserved.</p>

<p>Hawking showed that black holes actually emit radiations, and therefore slowly evaporate. This hints towards different ways of solving the paradox, listed in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole_information_paradox" rel="noreferrer">wikipedia page</a>.</p>

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2018-03-16T01:43:01.140Z
If the lowly NAND gate can lose information, why can't a black hole lose information as well ???
William Hird
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2018-03-16T09:42:26.370Z
I guess a physical NAND gate must give back the "lost" information in the form of heat or in some other way we computer scientists abstract away.
Denis
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2018-03-16T14:52:22.350Z
why did you put parentheses around the word lost, you don't think you can "recover" the information after it has been turned into heat, do you? You will need some Flux Capacitors and a Heisenberg Compensator to accomplish that ;-)
William Hird
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-16T15:05:14.800Z
It's because it's lost for us but not for the physical world :)
Denis
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2018-03-16T16:19:36.953Z
Isn't that the same thing, after all, we are all entangled with our "environment" , right ?
William Hird
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2018-03-23T16:21:20.763Z
computational complexity is increasingly being linked to black hole event horizon dynamics, maybe emerging research area eg by Susskind et al https://arxiv.org/abs/1402.5674
vzn
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-15T15:09:58.533Z
2018-03-15T15:09:58.533Z
Denis
<p>Not a direct answer but something : He is mentioned 19 times in these lecture notes of Scott Aaronson, <a href="https://www.scottaaronson.com/barbados-2016.pdf" rel="noreferrer">https://www.scottaaronson.com/barbados-2016.pdf</a> That says something, I guess? :D </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-15T20:32:55.177Z
2018-03-15T20:32:55.177Z
Student
<p>He gave a little indirect concrete (not theoretical) contribution to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology" rel="nofollow noreferrer">assistive technologies</a>:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33991887" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Stephen Hawking's speech tech released by Intel</a>: 
"... Software that helps Prof Stephen Hawking to speak via a computer has been published online by Intel, the company that created it. ..."</p>

<p>There is a short description also on <a href="http://www.hawking.org.uk/the-computer.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">his site</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-16T10:30:38.400Z
2018-03-16T10:36:14.933Z
2018-03-16T10:36:14.933Z
Marzio De Biasi
<p>In light of Stephen Hawking passing away today, I was wondering whether any of his results have direct impact on cs? </p>

<p>The obvious candidate would be in quantum computing, or rather the construction of a physical quantum computer, but perhaps there are results that have other impact.</p>

<p>I am familiar with his work only on the popular-science level, so this is not really a research-level question, but perhaps it has research-level answers.</p>

<p>EDIT: following the answer, I don't mean his recent concerns about AI. That is not really a contribution to CS, more of a philosophical/sociological point. I aim more for mathematical results, or connections of physics to computing.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-14T21:47:38.057Z
If you consider information theory to be part of CS, his solution to the black hole information paradox (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole_information_paradox) can be seen as such a contribution
Denis
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-15T11:49:40.977Z
@Denis - why not add some details and make this an answer? Seems very relevant.
Shaull
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-23T16:17:39.603Z
he had a lot to say about future possibliities of AI in later interviews but apparently not much in writing, somewhat alarmist headline grabbing along the lines of Musk. some may criticize that but unf if the (insider) leaders of a field do not speak up, others will in the semi vacuum. for more grounded insider views of AI see Gates or Brooks. it seems Hawking fell into some of the "traps" descr by Brooks here recently https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609048/the-seven-deadly-sins-of-ai-predictions/
vzn
<big-list><physics><bibliography>
Stephen Hawking's impact on computer science
Shaull
# Stephen Hawking's impact on computer science

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-03-14)

In light of Stephen Hawking passing away today, I was wondering whether any of his results have direct impact on cs?

The obvious candidate would be in quantum computing, or rather the construction of a physical quantum computer, but perhaps there are results that have other impact.

I am familiar with his work only on the popular-science level, so this is not really a research-level question, but perhaps it has research-level answers.

EDIT: following the answer, I don't mean his recent concerns about AI. That is not really a contribution to CS, more of a philosophical/sociological point. I aim more for mathematical results, or connections of physics to computing.

**Tags:** big-list, physics, bibliography
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: If you consider information theory to be part of CS, his solution to the black hole information paradox (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole_information_paradox) can be seen as such a contribution  
> **username_0**: @Denis - why not add some details and make this an answer? Seems very relevant.  
> **username_2**: he had a lot to say about future possibliities of AI in later interviews but apparently not much in writing, somewhat alarmist headline grabbing along the lines of Musk. some may criticize that but unf if the (insider) leaders of a field do not speak up, others will in the semi vacuum. for more grounded insider views of AI see Gates or Brooks. it seems Hawking fell into some of the "traps" descr by Brooks here recently https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609048/the-seven-deadly-sins-of-ai-predictions/  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-03-15. Score: 8

He didn't have any major impact on computer science.

His writing in computer science are limited to popsci and more recently raising public concerns about AI.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Stating that he didn't have *any* major impact requires some evidence. As pointed out in the comments, his contribution to information theory may be such a contribution. But I will edit the post to regard the AI concerns.  
> **username_4**: @Shaull `Stating that he didn't have any major impact requires some evidence.` It's hard to demonstrate that something did _not_ happen.  
> **username_0**: @Thomas - Indeed, it's very hard. That's why I think such an answer is not entirely believable without substantial evidence.  Moreover, who is to tell whether Hawking's work won't have any impact in the future? Point is - while the question is phrased as "is there any impact", my intention was "give examples of impact, if you know of any". In the same sense that when someone asks you whether you know what time it is, you don't answer "yes".  

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### Answer by username_1 on 2018-03-15. Score: 7

The [Black Hole Information Paradox](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole_information_paradox) seems relevant to me, as it concerns information theory, which can be seen as close to computer science.

To sum up, the paradox in question is that when objects or in general waves carrying information are swallowed by a black hole, the information they carry seems to be destroyed. This violates principles in quantum physics, roughly saying that information must be preserved.

Hawking showed that black holes actually emit radiations, and therefore slowly evaporate. This hints towards different ways of solving the paradox, listed in the [wikipedia page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole_information_paradox).

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: If the lowly NAND gate can lose information, why can't a black hole lose information as well ???  
> **username_1**: I guess a physical NAND gate must give back the "lost" information in the form of heat or in some other way we computer scientists abstract away.  
> **username_5**: why did you put parentheses around the word lost, you don't think you can "recover" the information after it has been turned into heat, do you? You will need some Flux Capacitors and a Heisenberg Compensator to accomplish that ;-)  
> **username_1**: It's because it's lost for us but not for the physical world :)  
> **username_5**: Isn't that the same thing, after all, we are all entangled with our "environment" , right ?  
> **username_2**: computational complexity is increasingly being linked to black hole event horizon dynamics, maybe emerging research area eg by Susskind et al https://arxiv.org/abs/1402.5674  

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### Answer by username_6 on 2018-03-15. Score: 5

Not a direct answer but something : He is mentioned 19 times in these lecture notes of Scott Aaronson, <https://www.scottaaronson.com/barbados-2016.pdf> That says something, I guess? :D


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### Answer by username_7 on 2018-03-16. Score: 4

He gave a little indirect concrete (not theoretical) contribution to [assistive technologies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assistive_technology):

[Stephen Hawking's speech tech released by Intel](http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33991887):
"... Software that helps Prof Stephen Hawking to speak via a computer has been published online by Intel, the company that created it. ..."

There is a short description also on [his site](http://www.hawking.org.uk/the-computer.html).


---

