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

In the Prologue to Nexus, Yuval Noah Harari posits that the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will soon cause “an existential crisis” (xi) in humanity. As wise as humans are, humans seem innately self-destructive. He cites myths and legends that warn humans not to “summon powers you cannot control” (xiii), but laments that these cautionary fables do not offer answers beyond waiting for divine intervention. These fables, Harari suggests, misunderstand the way in which humans gain and abuse power, which is closely associated with the human tendency to cooperate in large numbers. Typically, people believe that big information networks are inherently good. This view is naïve, Harari says, as information can lead to errors as well as truth.

The naïve view that “information is an essentially good thing, and the more information we have of it, the better” (xvii) does not stand up to scrutiny. Inventions that have revolutionized human culture, from the printing press to the telegraph to the internet, have not eradicated prejudice or violence. Harari accepts that there are many cases where more information has improved the world, comparing child mortality rates from the 18th century to the modern day as a demonstration of a time when the naïve view of information proved to be correct. Nevertheless, he says, “humanity is closer than ever to annihilating itself” (xx).

AI is the latest technology that, its advocates claim, has the potential to revolutionize the world. For all the potential positives of AI, however, Harari notes that many famous people have warned that “AI could destroy our civilization” (xxi). Not only could AI empower existing conflicts, but it differs from previous innovations in that it is not just a tool. Since AI has the ability to actually make choices and decisions, it is an “agent” (xxii) rather than a blunt instrument wielded by humans.

In his previous book, Homo Deus, Harari argued that “the real hero of history has always been information” (xxiii) rather than humanity. Since the publication of Homo Deus, a wave of populism has swept the world, embodied by politicians such as Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro. These populists use information as a weapon, creating a world in which there is no objective truth or reality. Echoing radical left critiques of objectivity, these populists more crudely create a binary world of “the pure people” versus “the corrupt elite” (xxvi), a dichotomy that undermines all trust in political institutions and reality in favor of a radical form of empiricism. Science is abandoned in favor of religion or mysticism, elevating charismatic leaders who challenge traditional information networks and institutions. Harari lays out the course for his book, but chooses to begin with the question: “[W]hat exactly is information?” (xxxii).