Nexus: Yuval Noah Harari's latest book raises questions over AI

Yuval Noah Harari’s new tome Nexus: A brief history of information networks from the Stone Age to AI, examines how these networks have made and unmade our world. 

Due for release on Tuesday (10 September), the Israeli historian and philosopher’s latest book asks the question why Home Sapiens - the wise human - is engaged with so many self-destructive practices, particularly ecological and technological suicide. 

Yuval suggests humanity gains power by building large networks of cooperation, and that the easiest way to create and maintain these networks is through spreading fictions, fantasies and mass delusions. 

Taking the reader on a journey from the Stone Age through the Bible, witch-hunts, Stalinism, Nazism and the resurgence of populism today, Yuval’s narrative asks us to consider the complexities of a society so rooted in information and truth, as well as bureaucracy and illusion. 

Given the prominence of AI, the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Sapiens posits that in the 21st century, this non-human intelligence may form the nexus for a new network of delusions that could prevent future generations from even attempting to expose those lies and fictions. 

It is this perspective that prompts the reader to consider the urgent choices and the ethical questions we face as non-human intelligence continues to grow in power to inhabit a space where it poses a threat to our very existence.

In a recent interview with Forbes, Harari declared: “Storytelling is our superpower,” adding: “We are the only species with the ability to use language - not just to describe things we can see, taste and touch, but also to invent stories about things that don’t exist.” 

Yuval, whose books have sold over 45 million copies in 65 languages, is currently a lecturer at the Department of History, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

• Nexus: A brief history of information networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari is published by Penguin.