Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI

Harari explores the potential dangers and complexities of emerging computer-based networks, which are far more powerful than past bureaucratic systems. While these networks offer immense benefits, such as improving healthcare and education, they also pose existential risks, including the possible “destruction of human civilization” (306). 

Throughout history, new technologies like those of the Industrial Revolution have caused significant upheaval before their benefits became clear, often leading to imperialism, wars, and ecological disasters. Learning to manage powerful technologies like AI may require navigating similar challenges, but with greater consequences due to their potential for rapid change and large-scale impact.

Harari argues that while democracies have managed past technologies through self-correcting mechanisms, the relentless pace of AI development and its potential to invade privacy, manipulate individuals, and destabilize job markets may threaten democracy itself. He urges that humans maintain oversight, use AI responsibly, and ensure that democratic principles (such as decentralization and mutual accountability) are applied to AI systems. Additionally, the unpredictability of the future job market due to automation may further strain democratic systems, as people must repeatedly retrain and adapt to new conditions.

In the 2010s and early 2020s, conservative parties in many democracies experienced a radical transformation, as leaders like Donald Trump “hijacked” (324) them away from traditional conservatism, which had focused on preserving existing institutions and gradual change.