Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI Hardcover – September 10, 2024

This is a beautifully written and elegantly reasoned account of how humanity was shaped by revolutions in the way information and knowledge were recorded by and transmitted among humans. Until now, all these media were fixed and passive, in that they necessitated a human interpreter and inevitably have been used for both good and evil. Today we depend on AI to digest and interpret the continual avalanche of information flooding us. This wonderful book looks with a clear and unbiased eye at the potential of AI to be used for both good and evil and is not afraid to look into how this might occur in the future. It is impressively researched, full of illuminating examples from human history and simply a pleasure to read.

This book makes you think deeply about our future. I love this author and I love this book. I have read other treatises about the dangers of artificial intelligence, which I didn't find particularly alarming. The dangers identified by others seem like the kinds we avoid and mitigate routinely as we gain more experience. Harari makes a strong case for the need to guard against inadvertently deceiving ourselves with clumsy uses of artificial intelligence.

Nexus is the latest book by Yuval Noah Harari in which he explores some of the existential questions that concern technology and humanity and their interaction. Starting from a perspective of information and its role in increasing participation or strengthening control the work weaves together a lot of topics to try to give a perspective on how technology is impacting society in some positive but many detrimental ways. He then pursues the topic of AI which he alters the acronym to Alien intelligence to highlight the intrinsic difference in computational schemes that goes into machine technologies and highlights a multitude of scenarios that seem plausible but highly concerning about the embedding of more technology into our social structure. It is a thought provoking book that highlights rational concerns on our future in a technology fueled world but it offers no real policy vision on what to do about it. It does serve as a strong reminder that there are severe consequences to some of our technology roadmaps and they are already impacting us but again what to do about it is the real question not what are imaginable scenarios.The book is split into three parts starting with human networks. The author in his usual style implicitly pokes fun at humanity's social structure and history of gravitating to mythology and shows how much of history has been about using information and story to create order. Human stories create networks of common purpose far beyond the family unit and thus has been the basis of creating networks that allow for coordination on a scale that no other species can replicate. This is a powerful concept introduced and is also then discussed in the context of democracy and autocracy. The author highlights that the information structure of a democracy is that of greater participation in the information network and in autocracy it is a centralized one. These different style focus on truth and order with different priorities. The author brings up how in autocratic, mimicking religious frameworks the systems are built on the timelessness of the regime for providing solutions and thus infallibility is a pillar of the governance structures. Democracy being an evolving system by construction is more fluid with the potential to get carried in different directions at different times. The author makes it a strong point to highlight that democracy is not majoritarianism but is about the rights of citizens for themselves not the rights of citizens over others.The author moves onto computers and their influence. He highlights the distributed nature of them as well as their permanence in the infrastructure we depend on. The author starts to highlight how the control of this network has changed interaction structures as well as changed the likelihood of survival of autocratic regimes relative to the past. In particular the information gathering networks of today can be processed in real time unlike in the past when piles of papers would be the product of surveillance that the state didn't have the capacity to process. The author also highlights that networks can perpetuate bias and be error prone.From here the author moves on to the influence of technology on politics and its clear deterioration in recent times. He gives a multitude of scenarios in which platforms with no editorial review that promote user engagement are mere platforms to perpetuate hate and sensationalism. These examples all highlight how the "objective function" that many algorithms are trained to maximize have a negative relationship with human welfare. There is also little consequence of this given the weak regulatory oversight. Despite this problem the author is able to highlight that oversight itself solves little because we don't know the consequences of changing goals given the complexity of mapping the dynamics of the underlying ecosystem to their conclusions. The author uses some examples where AI evades boundaries to achieve goals highlighting the increasing difficulty in constraining AI in practice. Overall the book highlights the concerns many people have about the direction of technology and the speed at which technology has been disruptive. Unfortunately despite such concerns resonating they do not offer sufficient concern to stop progress nor a blueprint for a dependable oversight structure, which is probably impossible to achieve anyway. This leaves us unfortunately unsettled and without clear solutions.Nexus was a stronger work than Homo Deus and up there with Sapiens. As usual he will likely have an audience which dislikes his style and willingness to poke fun at some of humanities mythologies but the content is deep and the argument construction is well thought out. I definitely think this is a worthwhile read but be prepared to come out of it with no further wisdom on what to do about it.

I had hundreds of people that found this to be helpful. So here’s the re uploadYuval Harari highlights the naive misconception about information often touted by the tech industry and mainstream society: the belief that more information inherently leads to innovation, progress, and that the truth will always prevail. The printing press is frequently cited as a transformative invention, but what’s often overlooked is that one of its most popular outputs was the Malleus Maleficarum, a witch-hunting manual that contributed to the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people across Europe. Ironically, during the same period, Copernicus’ groundbreaking book—which shifted the paradigm from the geocentric theory (Earth at the center of the universe) to the heliocentric model (the Sun at the center)—was largely ignored by the public. Why? Because truth is often dull, while conspiracy theories are exciting.This dynamic should sound familiar. Decades ago, many feared that governments and mainstream media were brainwashing the public with negativity, a perception amplified by humanity’s natural negativity bias. Today, with the democratization of media through the internet, negativity and conspiracy theories have only proliferated. Echo chambers, clickbait, and sensationalist content dominate the digital space, amplifying modern conspiracies like the Area 51 raid, Hollywood and oligarchic sex rings, alien shape-shifting elites, flat Earth theories, and satanic baby-eating worshippers.Harari draws a parallel between this phenomenon and the impact of the printing press. Before its advent, witches were not universally viewed as evil, even by the church. But with the spread of printed conspiracies, authoritarian and totalitarian regimes thrived on the chaos these narratives created—just as they do today. Harari reminds us that truth is inherently chaotic, unexciting, and often overshadowed by more captivating fictions.The history of Judaism and Christianity, particularly the formation of the Torah and the Bible, was so fascinating—it opened up so much that I didn’t know. It was stimulating, to say the least. Shifting gears, I want to dive into counterarguments about AI, which I believe is a natural part of human evolution. Suggesting we slow down AI’s development feels as unrealistic as expecting humanity to abolish nuclear weapons or replace capitalism outright—these things, unfortunately, aren’t happening.While AI can present information in persuasive ways, individuals still have the agency to question and verify sources. The democratization of education and increased digital literacy can act as strong defenses against manipulation. Even Harari, who warns of AI propaganda, emphasizes the power of education. By prioritizing media literacy, we can effectively counteract many of AI’s potential risks. Manipulation is nothing new; it’s been around for centuries, from biased news to propaganda. AI might scale and speed up this issue, but societies have historically adapted through safeguards like fact-checking platforms, transparency initiatives, and ethical AI frameworks.The concern about inequality is valid, but AI also has the potential to level the playing field. Open-source technologies, community-driven projects, and global collaboration can help ensure AI’s benefits are more evenly distributed. Affordable AI systems are already improving healthcare, education, and infrastructure in underdeveloped regions. Throughout history, fears about new technologies have been met with proactive solutions. For example, the Industrial Revolution initially led to significant inequality, but measures like antitrust laws, unions, and public funding eventually balanced the scales. Similarly, policies such as AI taxation, universal basic income, and global governance initiatives could prevent power and resources from becoming overly concentrated.On the issue of trust, advances in AI detection tools are progressing rapidly. Algorithms to spot deepfakes, verify content authenticity, and ensure traceability through technologies like blockchain are already underway. Humans have always found ways to adapt to new challenges in distinguishing truth from falsehood. The invention of photography and video sparked similar fears of manipulation, yet we developed forensic analysis and journalistic standards to maintain trust. The same will likely happen with AI-generated content.As with past technological revolutions, while some jobs may be lost, entirely new industries and roles will emerge. The rise of the internet, for example, gave us careers in web development, digital marketing, and e-commerce—none of which existed before. Similarly, AI will create demand in fields like ethical oversight, system maintenance, and human-AI collaboration. Rather than clinging to outdated economic views of work, societies could shift focus to more meaningful, creative, and community-driven pursuits. Shorter workweeks, universal basic income, and subsidized retraining programs could smooth the transition, making AI a tool for enhancing human purpose rather than threatening it.While authoritarian regimes could misuse AI for oppression, the same tools can also empower democratic movements. AI can help activists organize, expose corruption, and spread counter-narratives effectively. Decentralized AI technologies could ensure that no single regime monopolizes these tools. Additionally, international treaties and regulations—similar to those for nuclear weapons or climate change—could establish ethical norms for AI use. Democratic nations and organizations have the opportunity to lead the charge in enforcing these standards.Harari’s warnings about AI illuminate genuine dangers, but his arguments sometimes feel overly deterministic and dystopian, underestimating humanity’s adaptability and resilience. Yes, the challenges posed by AI are real, but they are far from insurmountable. With the right education, regulation, and global collaboration, AI can be harnessed as a force for progress rather than something to fear. Harari’s critiques are invaluable for sparking dialogue, but they should be balanced with optimism and proactive solutions.

This is an interesting and elucidating read that I think would be approachable by most people (I rarely felt lost or overly preached to).The back history of how and why mythologies, information systems and bureaucracies were invented and evolved was fascinating, and my favorite part of the book.And though he doesn’t paint a rosy picture of where we are headed in this infancy stage of AI (compared to other authors like Ray Kurzweil), he’s not all gloom and doom.Yet one can consider this book to be a ‘warning shot’.