For the longest time, Yuval Noah Harari did not have a smartphone. Just two years ago, he was forced to buy one because ‘so many services now require a smartphone,’ he says, during an interview at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai on a glorious Sunday morning. But he uses the device sparingly. ‘I try to use it instead of being used by it,’ he says with an air of wisdom. ‘Too much information isn’t a good thing. This is part of my information diet.’
The need for an ‘information diet’ captures the essence of his latest book, Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI (Fern Press). Exploring the breadth of history, Harari writes about how clay tablets, stories, the printing press, and computers have all helped humans communicate with one another. He explores how communication networks have helped us build societies, exercise power, disseminate information, and shape democracies and autocracies. Using history as the basis, he imagines — and dreads — what could happen in the age of AI (artificial intelligence).
AI as an Agent
In the midst of this information overload, Harari worries that we are plunging happily into the age of AI. With no holds barred, he writes, ‘AI has the potential to escape our control and enslave or annihilate us.’ When asked about this alarmist perspective, he doubles down in his soft-spoken, yet assertive manner: ‘When I say AI may escape our control, I mean it. Because AI is not a tool, it is an agent.’
He elaborates: ‘A book or a printing press cannot escape our control. A printing press cannot invent a new book, but AI can. AI is capable of writing texts and creating images and videos. The defining characteristic of AI is that it can learn on its own and change, which is why it is difficult to control.’
He explains that very few people understand AI and they are mostly based in two countries: the U.S. and China. ‘We have a handful of people representing humanity and making some of the most important decisions in history. This is why I wrote Nexus, to give more people in more countries a better understanding of what’s happening, so they can join the debate. Then there is a good chance that we will make good decisions.’
Harari’s greatest gift is his storytelling. Nexus is a bold, sensationalist, and propulsive read. After all, he is a popular historian. This is a tag that he enjoys as it has allowed him to reach a wider audience. ‘I see myself as a bridge between academic historians who write for a very narrow professional circle and the wider public. I base my work on their findings. Popular history is important, but it has to stay loyal to the scientific values of evidence, truth, and research,’ he says.
Published on – December 12, 2024, 02:07 pm IST
