Other life in the solar system there may be, but its going to take a lot more than Arthur C. Clarke seeing the "face" on Mars in a photo to convince most people.
Clarke is, of course, a bonafide scientist, who invented the geostationary satellite in 1946. He points out that some of the recent Mars photos show what appear to be plant roots and seeds/fruits exposed on the surface. I have seen the photos, which are available online with a search, and they are intriguing but obviously not conclusive evidence of life.
Steven Hawking is in the news with his recommendation that we colonize outer space. Clarke turned his back on colonization of outer space decades ago--contributing, along with Sagan, to the 30-year siesta of the space program--and therefore should be ignored. Hawking is a great guy, although when he descends to the level that we ordinary people can understand he is taking vital time and energy away from his theoretical physics.