“Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow” Abridged
Yuval Noah Harari takes readers on a thought-provoking journey into humanity’s future in his acclaimed book “Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow”
In Homo Deus, historian Yuval Noah Harari continues his fascinating investigation of humankind’s past and present, looking ahead to our species’ future in the 21st century and beyond. Building on the ideas from his previous international bestseller, Sapiens: “A Brief History of Humankind”, Harari paints a visionary but realistic picture of mankind’s road ahead, exploring provocative questions about what the next stage in human evolution might look like.
Harari foresees a not-too-distant world in which humans, having overcome famine and disease, will devote themselves to chasing immortality, happiness, and even divinity. With the rise of powerful new technologies like biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, he argues that our species will aim to upgrade humans into gods, focusing on overcoming old age and even death itself.
The book is divided into three parts. In Part I, Harari examines the concepts of hunger, war, and plague — humanity’s ancient enemies for millennia — and how modern science and technology have largely conquered them in the 21st century. For example, while plague ravaged populations for centuries, antibiotics have now made many bacterial diseases curable. War between nations has declined dramatically. And innovations like fertilizers and genetically modified crops have allowed food production to soar, making famine increasingly rare.
Having defeated its old mortal enemies, mankind now faces an identity crisis as it reevaluates its needs in Part II. Rather than striving to overcome poverty, illness and violence, humanity’s new priorities are ever-increasing comfort, health, and bliss. Augmented reality, virtual reality, and drugs like SSRIs allow people to experience more happiness and satisfaction. Anti-aging research aims to dramatically extend lifespans. AI and algorithms allow corporations and governments to monitor and manipulate the feelings of entire populations.
Harari argues that humanism is being replaced by a new religion of “dataism” where algorithms and data are worshipped. Rather than viewing humans as individuals with free will, dataism sees us as sets of data points to be quantified and computed. The book suggests that while Silicon Valley technology firms present themselves as liberators, they often are building an oppressive regime of surveillance capitalism. The author warns that humans may end up serving these dataist networks, rather than the networks serving us.
In Part III, Harari peers into the more distant future at how pursuit of abilities like immortality and bliss could transform humankind into an entirely different species. He describes the possibility of a small elite class enhancing themselves into cyborgs with superhuman abilities. Meanwhile, the masses lose their economic value in a world of artificial intelligence, advanced robots and algorithms. To keep the ordinary population content, governments could provide universal basic income and unlimited free drugs.
But Harari worries that the useless class could be politically ignored and economically exploited. Data algorithms may know and manipulate us better than we know ourselves. The book cautions that we could end up essentially worshipping these algorithms as omniscient, omnipotent deities. The author argues we should maintain our sense of shared humanity despite technological upheaval.
Homo Deus speculates about a variety of futures for mankind, ranging from dystopian to utopian. Harari admits he does not know which vision will come to pass, if any. But he aims to start a discussion about the risks, ethical quandaries and immense responsibilities surrounding humanity’s next steps. We may overcome disease, war, starvation and even death itself through modern science. But if we’re not thoughtful about the coming challenges, we could end up in a high-tech dystopia where AI, corporations and governments have too much power over our lives. Or people could divide into rival groups of superhumans and useless humans, seeding conflict.
The book highlights how human civilization has been shaped over generations by our collective myths, fictions and stories about the meaning of life. Harari argues we now need new, better stories about using technology wisely to improve life for all. Homo Deus emphasizes that, even with all our technological power, human beings should not aim to become gods. We are imperfect creatures with biases, violence and delusions baked into our nature. Becoming godlike could inflame our darkest tendencies toward domination, exclusion and cruelty.
While avoiding definitive predictions, Homo Deus maps out plausible trajectories for humanity based on current breakthroughs. For example, will aging become treatable or even reversible within decades? If so, how will that change family structures, careers, overpopulation, inequality and aged dictatorships? Can AI and biotechnology merge to create super-intelligent cyborgs? Who would control such godlike machines, and what would be the implications for ordinary humans?
Harari points out that history is filled with examples of how new abilities tend to create new responsibilities and dilemmas. For instance, the splitting of the atom gave us the power of nuclear energy but also nuclear weapons. As our species gains powers traditionally associated only with deities, from creation of life to defying death, how will we handle such immense capabilities?
Homo Deus argues we need a new ethical framework to guide humanity into its high-tech future, focused on protecting humanity as a whole rather than just elites. Otherwise, we could become victims of our own creations and obsessions, from runaway technological processes to algorithmic tyranny. The book emphasizes the need for global cooperation and a humanist perspective, rather than national or corporate interest, as we develop species-altering innovations that could reshape the definition of humankind.
This site contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you purchase products or services via the links provided.
This post was created with the help of AI tools.
