Just as artificial intelligence (AI) models are trained on huge data sets to learn and make predictions, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind And Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow have trained us to expect groundbreaking ideas from bestselling historian Yuval Noah Harari.
His latest book, Nexus: A temporary history of data networks from the Stone Age to AIis a comprehensive examination of the history and way forward for human networks. Harari draws on a wide selection of historical and contemporary examples for example how information has shaped and continues to shape human societies.
Building on the foundations of Sapiens, by which Harari examined the cognitive revolution that gave humans the unique ability to create shared myths and narratives, Nexus shifts the main focus to how these narratives are transmitted, maintained and transformed across information networks.
At the guts of this latest book is Harari’s argument that AI represents a radically latest force in the event of human civilization, a theme he also explored in a Article 2023 about AI's ability to control language, culture, and society. The article, which warned that AI has “hacked the operating system of human civilization,” offers a critical perspective through which to look at Nexus.
The book covers an immense historical arc from the emergence of Homo sapiens and its interaction with the Neanderthals to the emergence of Neuralink (an implant that permits users to speak with computers through thought alone) and the potential impact of AI on the longer term of human civilization.
Harari takes readers on a journey through millennia, and his ability to construct a coherent argument in regards to the centrality of data networks is one among the book's biggest strengths. The connections he draws between ancient history and modern technology challenge readers to rethink their understanding of the past and present.
The narrative borders on arrogance at times, as Harari draws connections between seemingly disparate events and phenomena under the broad umbrella of “networks.” But I believe this boldness will likely be what makes Nexus so compelling for some readers. Whether you agree with Harari or not, he makes one other argument for why teaching and learning history is important to human survival.
History, Harari reminds us forcefully, offers worthwhile lessons in ethics and morality by highlighting the results of human actions. It asks us to contemplate the moral implications of the selections of politicians and atypical people alike. It asks us to reflect on our own decisions.
The foundation of human cooperation
At the guts of Nexus is the concept that networks – whether social, political, economic or technological – are the premise of human cooperation and power. Harari argues that the strength of human societies has at all times been based on their ability to create and maintain information networks, which in turn enable large-scale cooperation and the distribution of resources, knowledge and authority.
The argument goes beyond the physical networks of roads, trade routes, and institutions. It also includes intangible networks of shared beliefs, cultural narratives, and laws. Harari emphasizes the role of storytelling, a central theme in Sapiens, in creating these networks. He shows how fundamental to human progress has been the flexibility to speak and reinforce abstract ideas like government, religion, and money.
But Nexus isn’t only a story of networks. It can also be a cautionary tale in regards to the dangers posed by probably the most advanced and rapidly evolving networks on the earth today: artificial intelligence and other types of digital technology. Harari's critique of artificial intelligence is especially poignant. He sees it as a brand new sort of intelligence – which he provocatively calls “extraterrestrial intelligence” – that would potentially operate outside human control.
This is where the book's central theme becomes most pressing. The networks which have served humanity so well previously, enabling unprecedented cooperation and progress, are actually at risk of becoming too complex and opaque for humans to totally control. AI, Harari warns, isn’t simply a tool we use; it could possibly make decisions by itself and generate latest knowledge. Its rise could fundamentally change the structure of human society. For this reason, Harari argues for its regulation and control.
The evaluation of AI in Nexus relies on historical evidence. Harari draws on examples starting from ancient myths to recent technological advances. He uses the case of AlphaGowhich in 2016 was the primary AI able to Defeat Lee Sedolthe world champion of Goa strategic board game that for 1000’s of years was considered a site by which human intuition and creativity would at all times prevail.
The example shows that AI has already begun to surpass human understanding. Even the developers of AlphaGo couldn’t fully explain the explanations behind a few of its moves.
This “alien” nature of AI, which Harari contrasts with previous human inventions corresponding to the steam engine or the pc, presents a challenge of a brand new kind. It isn’t clear whether humans will give you the option to keep up control over the systems they’ve created.
AI, power and the longer term of human networks
In his signature style, Harari connects this theme to broader political and social problems, particularly the rise of authoritarianism and populism. He argues that as AI becomes more integrated into decision-making processes—from deciding who gets a loan to who’s the goal of a military strike—the transparency and accountability of those processes will diminish. This poses a fundamental threat to democracy, as residents may not give you the option to know or query the forces shaping their lives.
Harari also mentions the possible extinction of humanity. But before that happens, he envisions a future by which AI-driven networks reinforce existing inequalities and powerful technology corporations and governments use AI to consolidate their control over information and resources.
By drawing connections between the traditional world and the digital age, Harari revisits a few of the central arguments from his earlier works, particularly Sapiens. Like Sapiens, Nexus examines the role of shared myths and collective fictions in human history, but places greater emphasis on the mechanisms that preserve and transmit these stories. This deal with the fabric and knowledge networks that underpin human societies allows Harari to supply a fresh perspective on familiar themes.
Harari ponders the longer term of those networks. He envisions a world by which AI-driven systems could transform not only human societies but your complete biosphere, potentially giving rise to latest life forms and intelligences. He warns that the rise of AI could mark a turning point in human history where humans lose control of the networks which were their biggest source of power.
This futuristic perspective is consistent with Nexus, Harari's other speculative work, Homo Deus, which similarly explores the potential consequences of technological progress for the longer term of humanity.
Homo Deus often treads on murky ground, but Nexus stays rooted in historical evaluation. Harari's use of concrete historical examples, from the invention of the printing press to the rise of worldwide empires, underpins his argument and makes Nexus seem more balanced and fewer alarmist than a few of his earlier works—though its warnings aren’t any less urgent.
A call to motion
One of the few criticisms that will be manufactured from Nexus is its tendency to oversimplify complex historical processes within the service of its central thesis. Harari's try and fit all of human history right into a framework of data networks, while intellectually stimulating, can feel reductionist at times.
For example, in his evaluation of non secular texts as mere instruments of social control, he overlooks the good diversity of interpretations and the deeply personal spiritual experiences which have shaped religious traditions. Similarly, in his portrayal of bureaucratic systems as mere instruments for maintaining power, he overlooks the ways by which these systems have enabled social mobility and the protection of individual rights.
Despite these occasional simplifications, Nexus stays a thought-provoking call to motion. It offers a comprehensive overview of the history of data networks while also offering a stark warning in regards to the future. Harari's linking of ancient history to probably the most pressing technological and policy challenges of the twenty first century provides a framework for understanding the risks and opportunities presented by rapidly advancing technology.
A disturbing thought involves mind. Harari, an atheist who argues that religions are collective human fictions, appears to be asserting something that is apparent to many: AI created by humans can never possess a soul, within the sense of an exclusively human drive for creativity. The consequence of this argument is that AI, irrespective of how advanced, would lack the intrinsic human qualities that drive creativity, emotions, and ethical and moral reasoning.
Nexus is ambitious, daring, and at times unsettling. It doesn't offer solutions which can be easy to attain. But it challenges readers to think critically about what determines our lives and the way AI might change them. For anyone taken with the intersection of history, technology, and power, Harari once more inspires deep reflection.
