Michio Kaku

In several interviews about unidentified aerial phenomena, Kaku stated that the burden of proof had shifted following the release of military videos and congressional hearings: in his view, authorities now had to explain the observations rather than simply dismiss them. This stance was welcomed in some UAP circles and criticised by sceptics who considered that it gave too much weight to ambiguous data.

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Kaku's book 'Quantum Supremacy' received an exceptionally harsh review from quantum computing theorist Scott Aaronson, who identified what he regarded as numerous factual or technical errors and excessive extrapolations concerning the future capabilities of quantum computers.

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Kaku has argued that quantum computers could transform drug discovery, climate modelling, fusion, materials chemistry and even certain mechanisms associated with ageing. His projections fuelled criticism of the 'hype' surrounding a technology still facing problems of error correction, stability and scalability.

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In 'The God Equation', Kaku presents string theory as the most promising candidate for a unified theory of physics. The marketing phrase 'God Equation' and his optimism attracted criticism because string theory still lacks direct experimental validation and several of its relevant predictions remain beyond the reach of current experiments.

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During the Fukushima disaster, Kaku warned that the situation was, in his view, approaching a 'point of no return' and recommended, if control of the reactors continued to deteriorate, a 'Chernobyl option' involving large-scale measures to cool, cover and potentially entomb the installations.

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Before the launch of Cassini, whose spacecraft used plutonium generators, Kaku challenged official risk assessments and suggested that a serious accident could, in an extreme scenario, cause up to approximately 200,000 cancer deaths. NASA estimated the radiological consequences in its own scenario to be far lower and considered the probability of a catastrophic accident extremely small.

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Michio Kaku was among the scientists campaigning against Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, known as 'Star Wars', and helped circulate pledges by researchers refusing to work on the programme. He argued that the system risked fuelling the arms race, diverting scientific resources and creating a dangerous illusion of protection against nuclear war.

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