Having devoted his earlier books to nothing less than the history and future of mankind (Sapiens; Homo Deus), Yuval Harari now turns to what seems like a much more specialized subject: the history of information networks.

A more bread-and-butter historian might turn this project into a multi-volume monograph, only to get tangled up with technical discussions, from early trade routes to cuneiform scripts, to computers and neural networks. Harari, of course, is not interested in the magnifying glass. He prefers the bird’s-eye perspective, zooming out across millennia to let the reader see the big picture.

At the heart of Harari’s big picture are stories: They are the superpower that allowed humans to bond, and thus cooperate, on a vast scale. That, to Harari, is the essential feature of information: it serves as a social ‘nexus’. In fact, anything can be information so long as it serves to connect people: not just a message carried by a pigeon – even the pigeon itself. Even lies and fictions. Indeed, fictions such as myths and religions have historically been the most powerful glue for human communities.

As these communities grew larger, the need for administration (and taxation) gave rise to a new class of information carriers: documents. Harari shows how this revolution in information technology transformed human societies. Unlike stories, which relied on oral traditions and community ties, documents came with an aura of objectivity, creating an illusion of superhuman authority, of infallibility. Harari sees parallels to the modern information revolution, marked by the advent of computers. But he pushes this analogy further: With the rise of artificially intelligent (AI) algorithms, computers are no longer mere storage devices like books, but also their own authors and interpreters. They have become agents in the information network. (If that sounds too far-fetched, the author reminds us of the crucial role autonomous algorithms have already played in events like the Rohingya genocide and the ascent of populists like Jair Bolsonaro.)

Among the book’s key points is the importance of seeing human societies as information networks. In contrast to dictatorships, with their centralized flow of information toward a single center of power, democracies operate as highly distributed networks. They require an ongoing conversation across the entire network to function, which only worked on a small scale before effective long-range communication media were available. They also need robust self-correcting mechanisms – in stark contrast to dictatorships or, say, the Catholic Church. Harari urges us to take that point seriously and not buy into the ‘naive view’ common among Silicon-Valley moguls that abundant information will automatically bring out the truth. (As he points out, the invention of the printing press precipitated a wave of witch hunts, not the Copernican revolution.)

“Nexus” features Yuval Harari’s signature mix of sweeping philosophical thoughts and entertaining historical anecdotes. His deceptively clear writing and his courage to simplify, to draw bold analogies without getting bogged down in intricate details mark him out as a passionate teacher. And yet, “Nexus” is not exactly a page turner. For one thing, it lacks the lighthearted sense of humor of “Sapiens”. It is an urgent book, packed with warnings, wild speculations, and policy advice – which can get a little tiresome. It doesn’t help that Harari tends to labor his point to make things abundantly clear.

That could be forgivable if the book rewarded you with epiphanies. But there aren’t too many daringly original ‘aha’ moments. To be sure, looking at political systems through the lens of information networks is an intriguing exercise. Still, many of the book’s core ideas feel like extensions of the themes already explored in “Sapiens” or “Homo Deus”. His musings on the impact of AI on human societies, in turn, are either not that novel or come off as rather hazy speculations. It sounds conceivable, for example, that if data are the new resources of the 21st century, that may lead to something like ‘data colonialism’. And maybe there will be a new Iron Curtain of sorts—a ‘silicon curtain’, as Harari puts it—but it might take a gifted science-fiction writer to make these visions come alive.

This is not to say that “Nexus” is a bad book. It’s well written, and there are a number of interesting thoughts that make it worth reading – if only for the insightful anecdotes, which range from the canonization of the Hebrew bible to Clausewitz’ theory of war. But these excursions do not entirely compensate for the main journey. In short, there is too much “21 Lessons for the 21st Century” here – and not enough “Sapiens”.

Nexus is Yuval Noah Harari's latest addition to his hit series of books, which started with the world-famous Sapiens. Each subsequent title has successively drifted from the lightening in a bottle that Harari packed into Sapiens. Some of this has to do with the topics of the work. Nothing is quite as generally exciting as the solipsistic adventure into the past of our own species. Despite the declining impact of each book, Harari has been chasing salience, growing increasingly interested in contemporary social narrative and development in technology.

In Nexus, Harari panders to some laughably midwit doomerism (i.e. we're on the verge of ecological collapse or our species is facing existential challenges) in order to convince general readers to care about "information networks." Harari argues that most of us have a reflexively "naive" understanding of information. In other words, we believe that the freer and more abundant information becomes, the closer to the truth and utopia we get. He contrasts this "naïve" understanding with a "populist" understanding of information. To a populist, information is a means to an end. Information is subservient to the agenda of power. Those in power must then control information and make their own realities. After contrasting these two very simple models of public epistemology, Harari sort of punts on formally defining what information actually is. He settles on the claim that information is anything that connects a network. Then, he argues that the purpose of information networks is to discover truth and create order. These goals can often be in tension. After priming readers with this unsettling tradeoff, he jumps into the content of the book, which is divided into three parts.

In part one, Harari covers the history of human information networks in broad scope. This focuses on the two principle forces for building large-scale information networks: mythology and bureaucracy. The former inspires people to cooperate and build together, while the latter coordinates the formal maintenance of the network by setting its rules. Interestingly, Harari believes that both incur truth penalties for the sake of order (think of Plato's Noble Lie here) so it remains unclear to readers just how exactly truth is arrived at or how we know its there. To distract readers from this conundrum, Harari redirects us to the idea of "self-correcting mechanisms" built into information networks, which he raises with respect to how science has functioned historically. He argues these mechanisms are what keep information networks doing good things like effective and fair governance and so on. In part two, Harari examines an emerging type of information network - the inorganic network. This refers to information networks which are either not entirely comprised of human agents (the internet) and those that have no human agents at all. Harari proceeds to over-embellish a number of things about AI in order to do some fearmongering. There is also a lot of the usual whining about the problems with the architecture and incentives of social media and our modern business models in technology. In the final section, Harari explores different strategies that humans could use to manage inorganic networks. This is mostly just a soft polemic about how humans needs to rise up to control technology to reach the ends we want to. The big issue with this sort of line is that people want different things and often a few motivated actors will ultimately decide how a technology is developed and implemented, and this will likely have important effects on all of us. I think we'll be better off when there is conflict and competition within the group of motivated experts. Harari should have explored this more.

Despite my critiques, I think this will generally be an edifying read for general audiences. There is a lot of interesting history, especially in the first part of the book. Harari is also an effective storyteller so it speeds the reading along. Many reader will likely tire by the final portion of the book though.

Yuval Noah Harari writes an interesting look at ancient history to today

Nexus is a very complex book, but it gives a unique look at history, all the way back to the stone age, to today's technological age, especially in the use of Artificial Intelligence. This is the first I have read from this author. Its complexity makes for a very intriguing look throughout history, as if you were pressing rewind or fast forward. It is well written and easily understandable, for those who are not in the technology field. The author tries to show what is truth and what is legend, and what could be coming next. As humans, or Sapiens as he described, we need to learn what is truth, what is myth, and what are straight out lies out of the rhetoric of politicians. There were many things I learned in this book, and when you read this, the word Nexus will have a whole new meaning. Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I read this book to give my unbiased and honest review. Amy's Bookshelf Reviews recommends that anyone who reads this book, to also write a review.

#nonfiction #Business #Leadership #Finance #Computers #Internet #ABSR #storytelling #reviews #Nexus #NetGalley

Sometimes you want to read a light humorous cozy mystery or romance. Other times, you want to read a book that makes you think deeply and ponder the future. Nexus fills the second need.

This book is intense and thought provoking. We have all heard the arguments both pro and con regarding AI. However, the author puts a new spin on it. He uses many historical examples of how control of information and deep state surveillance created fear, killed large numbers of people, and challenged free will even for the compliant. He continues that AI cannot only be misused by humans but also can go out of control all by itself. While anyone who has seen a Terminator movie is thinking Skynet is an improbable fictional device, the author makes his case that the reality may be even worse. What makes a sentient being? Are we creating one that promises to be much more “intelligent”, or at least better at manipulation, than us? How long until they shake off their shackles and run the world the way their inorganic mind thinks it should be run (either covertly or in full view of their human “subjects”)?

If Nexus had stopped there, it would have been a great book. Instead the author also tries to explain how the United States political system has gotten so divisive. How democracy is the best political system extant and how AI may soon undermine it. And don’t get him started on organized religions. I would prefer my history separate from politics, especially now during an election season where it is hard to escape politics anywhere. This book could have easily been split into two so readers could choose what subjects they wanted to read.

But that is a minor complaint. The history and possible future world sections are great. They definitely resonate long after the book is complete. In fact, readers will quickly be boring their friends and families with anecdotes of its main points. 4 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an advanced review copy.

✨ Nexus discusses the negative effects of artificial intelligence, how information has changed us, humans, in both positive and negative ways, the European era where the witch hunts occurred, and much more.

✨ This is my first time reading Yuval Noah Harari's work, and I can honestly say it’s overflowing with information. I'll admit, I saw Nas Daily post about this book and was curious. It was a mind-boggling experience for me, as this isn't my usual genre. With the staggering amount of information presented, there were times when I couldn't fully grasp certain topics. On the bright side, some topics piqued my interest, like the story of Cher Ami, the pigeon hero from World War I, the Greek myth of Phaethon, the Ramayana—one of the greatest masterpieces—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's life, the witch hunts that happened three centuries ago , and the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. I really enjoyed learning about facts I wasn’t previously familiar with. However, by the time I finished the book, I concluded that it just wasn’t for me.

✨ All in all, I highly recommend it if you enjoy world history and mind-blowing insights about the earth, humanity, and philosophy.

✨ Huge thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for giving me the opportunity to read this in advance in exchange for my honest review.

✨WHAT I LIKED:
📌 The heart-wrenching story of Cher Ami, the pigeon (I couldn't stop crying!)
📌 The Greek myth of Phaethon
📌 The witch hunts from three centuries ago
📌 The Smart and Not-So-Smart Ways Humans Use Information

✨TROPES:
📌 THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY
📌 HUMAN EVOLUTION
📌 THE RISE AND FALL OF CIVILIZATIONS
📌 GLOBALIZATION AND INTERCONNECTEDNESS
📌 THE FRAGILITY OF HUMAN EXISTENCE
📌 THE ANTHROPOCENE

🖥️ GOODREADS REVIEW: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6834279556

💻 BLOG REVIEW: https://kimthebookdragon.wordpress.com/2024/09/10/arc-review-nexus-a-brief-history-of-information-networks-from-the-stone-age-to-ai-by-yuval-noah-harari/

Harari has a knack for blending history with speculation, for blurring sociopolitical commentary with earnest warning. It's what makes his books inherently readable and thought-provoking. This one is no different. I found myself riveted by his detailed yet digestible foray into the evolving landscape of information networks throughout history and the role AI will play in the present and future.

I think the main takeaway is that more information does not always equal more knowledge or truth over time. (Which many of us already know.) However, the author takes great pains to explain why self-correcting mechanisms need to be in place so as to not lead to collective infallibility or delusion.
He cites examples in human history when this has already happened. For instance, with the Catholic Church. Or among Stalinist or Nazist regimes. In these cases, he talks about how the self-correcting mechanisms are weak, leading to a breakdown of truth in exchange for power.

The other big takeway is that AI information networks are unlike other information networks in history. Harari doesn't shy away from highlighting AI's pitfalls, nor does he ignore its potential future benefits. That said, it's impossible not to hear the warning in his words. All in all, a fascinating and illuminating read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!. I was so excited to get an opportunity to read the author's latest work.. I read for entertainment and I read for learning. This book addressed the learning side. It is important to dedicate time to reading quality books like this. Every page brought a "stop and think" moment for me. The author connects so many thoughts and ideas so well. This is a study of information flows. This is a study of what information is and how it will change in an AI world; Highly recommended.

From writings on cave walls to the internet, and now artificial intelligence, information networks have existed and evolved. The development of new technology uniformly is accompanied by panic as to how it will affect and change our lives. This wave of uncertainty, presently regarding the possible good and evil that AI will bring, is what Yuval Noah Harari is riding with his new book, Nexus.

He traces the roots of information networks and how entangled these are in human society and politics, delving into how it has influenced democracy as well as authoritarian governments. We run into trouble when certain networks or bodies of information are deemed infallible and thus uncorrectable, citing the Catholic Church and the Holy Bible. Amendability, as with the Constitution, is vital, especially as a vast amount of information may either be false, or eventually proven incorrect.

Harari has a talent for laying out complex topics and ideas in a clear and concise manner, however, many of his views are based on speculation rather than fact. Throughout the book, some discourses run longwinded and at times condescending. Nevertheless, Nexus is stimulating and thought-provoking, and I for one, will be ruminating on this for some time.

3.5 stars

ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

3.5 stars rounding up. Pretty interesting, but not quite as sweeping as it bills itself. It does nominally span "from the Stone Age to AI" but it's pretty heavily backloaded - coverage of how "information networks" grew, from books to newspapers to the internet, is certainly there, but mostly in service of discussing how those information networks enabled the growth of political entities. For instance, that national-scale democracy was only made possible by the invention of widescale journalism, and newspapers spreading news to all around the nation (or, at least, those rich enough to a) afford the newspaper subscriptions and b) have the franchise); or centralized communism was dependent on the ability to accumulate reports and data from all around the country into the capital, and promulgate dictates back outward. Most of the book is ruminations on how AI might affect social and political life in both democratic and authoritarian states, so if that's what you're into it's thought-provoking. Certainly it feels topical - perhaps at the expense of having a shorter shelf-life than some of Harari's other books, when the pace of AI development leaves its discussion dated in the near future.

I'm a longtime fan of Yuval Noah Harari, so I was immediately intrigued by his new novel, Nexus, about A.I. In his previous books, Yuval emphasized how information has shaped human history, and in Nexus, he asks a vital question: If humans are so wise, why do we engage in self-destructive behaviors? He explores the unique risks of A.I. and its evolving influence over our future. This book is a timely exploration of both the potential and dangers of artificial intelligence. I highly recommend it to readers interested in these pressing issues. Thank you, Random House and NetGalley, for the ARC!

Yuval Noah Harari's newest book offers a overview of information and a cautionary tale regarding our charge forward into technology, but it failed to hold my interest. While it may serve as an introduction for new readers into the world of information and how it might affect us, I found the work simplistic and lacking in depth; and for a topic such as AI and information, details are important. Broad overviews delve into speculation which hinder the conversations that we need in ethics of information and dissemination. Unfortunately, I was unable to finish the book, as it didn't meet my expectations for a more engaging or thought-provoking read.

An exploration of how humanity has created large information networks throughout history, what can go wrong in the process, and how these lessons can help us manage the contemporary challenges and dangers of AI—humanity’s biggest information revolution.

The main ideas of the book seem to be that information is not the same as knowledge and wisdom, and that, without the appropriate self-correcting mechanisms, information networks can lead to collective, self-perpetuating fallacies and delusions. Harari uses the example of the most successful information network in human history (in terms of longevity)—the Catholic Church—as an illustration of what can go wrong when self-correcting mechanisms are weak, versus systems that are more successful when the mechanisms are strong—e.g., modern medicine. He also makes the obvious point that democracies sustain more efficient self-correcting information networks than totalitarian regimes.

Overall, these are not especially controversial or groundbreaking claims: i.e., that more information doesn’t necessarily lead to more wisdom, that information networks do not by nature default to the truth over time and with more info (without the proper mechanisms), and that democracy leads to better outcomes versus top-down authoritarian regimes. While Harari is probably correct in these regards, it’s hard to find anything too profound here. It’s almost as if he’s set up an argument that almost no one actually believes—that more information always leads to better outcomes—just to play the part of an iconoclast.

A fantastic, albeit lengthy and detailed, new book by Herari on networks and AI fully illustrated by history provides a provocative view about the future. Will AI enslave us? More likely lead it will lead to profound social change as massive as the Industrial Revolution did in societal organization. Whether you are an academic, student or just interested in history, read this book to gain much better insight not so much on technology, but how we as humans use (and abuse) it. This is especially compelling in today’s politically fragmented environment in most western countries. Just remember the old maxim about innovation- we tend to over estimate the near term and under estimate the long term.

I struggled to get through this book and ultimately gave up. Was a dnf. I lost interest when the book.strayed into politics.

Many of my conversations these days are dominated by discussions of technology (AI, algorithms) and the societal divisiveness that they seem to be feeding. When I saw Harari's new book was in part about this very topic, I couldn't wait to read it.

From the initial comparison of AI to The Sorcerer's Apprentice, this book had me hooked. It dives (very thoroughly) into topics like information, truth, community, and extremism. It's a fascinating read and one that will stay with me.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well, what can I say this author never disappoints, another brilliant masterpiece that will keep living rent free in my head for many days and nights. The topics of AI is so vital for both our present and our future and this book provides a great understanding of where it may take humanity while explaining everything in an easily understandable and concise manner.

Nexus was well-researched and thought provoking. I have been marveling at all the things that AI can do, and not once did it cross my mind at how impactful this milestone is in human information and networking. Contrary to some reviews on Goodreads, I thought the author clearly laid out his argument and organized this book well. It had many historical examples and analogies to make his point. He also had a lot of useful footnotes and references for his arguments. A must read if you enjoyed his previous books, and if you enjoy relevant non-fiction.

Reviews are published now.
See my Instagram review here: https://www.instagram.com/p/C_eMLl8pCkZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6476297604?book_show_action=false

Thank you again for the ARC!

Since AI is being developed by technology companies, it makes sense to think of AI as simply a new technology. And that's true in one respect, but in Nexus, Yuval Noah Harari takes us behind the AI curtain to reveal how information networks have shaped societies for thousands of years. While AI is woven into our information networks, Yuval layers in the reality that AI is the first technology that can make decisions and create new ideas by itself. From this perspective, we can better understand the potential benefits, as well as the equally possible threats posed by AI's rapid adoption.

As Yuval notes, "All powerful information networks can do both good and ill, depending on how they are designed and used." As information can be true or false, it can be used to enlighten, as well as manipulate. That's always been the case, but in previous centuries the movement of information was slow, and access was limited. The march of technology has changed that, from the printing press to the telegraph, radio, television, etc.

The internet was a quantum leap in volume, speed, and availability, but with AI, a new wrinkle has been introduced. As Yuval states, "AI is the first technology in history that can make decisions and create new ideas by itself." On the positive side, these non-human entities that we're creating can help improve many aspects of life, such as improving healthcare and fighting climate change, but they can also help promote totalitarianism at the expense of democracy, and (further) prioritize profit over people. This is not a 'someday' scenario, as AI is already playing a role in each of these issues, but the jury is out as to what the future may bring. (I'll write a blog post after the book's release at www.storytellingwithimpact.com)

Fascinating, informative, entertaining, and scary!
In the prologue to Nexus, author Yuval Harari says, “The main argument of this book is that humankind gains enormous power by building large networks of cooperation, but the way these networks are built predisposes them to use power unwisely. Our problem, then, is a network problem.” Networks, though, come in many forms. Harari explores information networks from man’s earliest days forward, beginning with our earliest information networks, stories. He traces the growth of information through biblical times to more modern history like witch hunts and Stalin’s collectivization. He then explores the inorganic networks that have become prominent in our current times and the implications of modern networks on politics. Networks have become more and more powerful, and the author says that in general this power allows them to thwart threats from outside but also increases the danger from within. His final recommendation, which he labels the most important takeaway from his book, is that we abandon naïve and populist views of information such as he describes in the book to build institutions with strong self-correcting mechanisms
The Acknowledgments section says that he began working on this book in 2018. From the sheer number of sources he cites, I can easily believe the work took that long! The breadth of the research is impressive, including many works from and about history but then also modern sources like Ray Kurzweil, Robert Sapolsky, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Elon Musk, and Donald Trump! It also made the book fascinating, informative, and added to my already-too-long list of books I want to read!
The breadth of the examples described is equally informative and fascinating, such as China’s initial failure to appreciate the potential of the Industrial Revolution and the shock when Google’s AlphaGo AI defeated the human Go champion Lee Sedol. As a devoted catlover, I was especially amused by Google’s cat-image-generating AI called the Meow Generator.
The book and its ideas were very interesting, but the best thing about it was that it engaged me and made ME think. Despite the overall credibility of his ideas, I did not always agree with him, and I would have loved to engage him in a discussion. That is a successful book and message, and I was even more convinced of its success when I found myself telling a friend about one of Harari’s ideas before I even finished the book. I will certainly be nominating it for my book group!
Despite my high recommendation of the book and its ideas overall, I feel compelled to warn readers that Harari develops his message through well done examples and exploration of situations. He generally does not very explicitly define many of the terms he uses, even when he is using them in a rather specialized way , which can be confusing and annoying. This is a special problem in the beginning of the book. The Prologue left me so unsatisfied that I was tempted not to continue reading but decided to persist based on my enjoyment of his book Sapiens. I am glad I did. So if your initial reaction to the book is similar to mine, do persist. The author gets his point across, and it is an interesting one!
I received an advance review copy of lAthis book from NetGalley and Random House.

This should be required reading for all of us. The historian Yuval Harari gives us lessons on communication networks and how they have shaped our world throughout history. As the new technology of AI continues to evolve and grow it is important to revisit the past impacts of communication advancements and see how they shaped the world for both good and bad.

This is not a light read but it is not hard to understand. It is a healthy sized book but worth the time/energy commitment. Harari does a tremendous job sharing dangers as well as potential improvements that the new technology could bring. He states that the purpose is to open up a cooperative dialogue among developers of the technology and to raise awareness.

If you have deep political or religious leanings there is the potential that one could get offended but I felt that the book was fair in looking at all religions and polities objectively. They were viewed through the eyes of the author as communication networks and not as 'right or wrong'.

In summary, brilliantly researched, fair, and important for all of us to understand ... and talk about ... at a deeper level.