Nexus

The books spread great ideas, but also myths. Algorithms made our jobs easier, and then they pitted us against each other. What will artificial intelligence do now?

Today's most widely read historian explores how information flows have shaped the world: from the Stone Age through the canonization of the Bible, witch hunts, Stalinism and Nazism to the current rise of populism and AI.
Harari shows that humanity has gained enormous power through the building of vast information networks. It explains how different societies and political systems have used them to achieve their goals and consolidate order. And why today's information revolution is radically different - and far more dangerous - than all previous ones. What choices does the existential risk of relentless but fallible AI pose to humanity?
If we don't talk to each other and consider each other enemies, not political rivals, democracy is unsustainable. But there is a way back to reason, freedom and responsibility - if we know how to look for it.
In the book you will learn, among other things: The belief that the free flow of information automatically leads to the truth does not correspond to reality. Our propensity to create indiscriminately powerful entities did not begin with AI, but with the invention of religion. A new kind of power is now emerging that cannot easily be called to account: the algorithm is not responsible for the decision. Industrial empires exploited and oppressed their colonies, and it would be foolish to expect the new digital empires to do any better. Self-correcting mechanisms will make democracies more resilient to AI risks than dictatorial regimes.
We are currently experiencing the greatest information revolution in human history. To master it, we need to understand what preceded it. Let yourself be absorbed by the engaging narrative and convincing argumentation of the famous historian.