Artificial Intelligence has disrupted the social order. To understand the current state of society, there is no better guide than Yuval Noah Harari, a celebrated historian and narrative writer. In his latest book, Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI, he explores the complex evolution of human society through information networks—from cuneiform clay tablets in Mesopotamia around 2500 BC to the modern age of computer networks. Harari foresees both the dangers posed by AI and the implications of AI-driven universalism: dangers to polity, social order and creative art.
He warns that “the new computer networks can foster digital anarchy,” as the “rise of unfathomable alien intelligence undermines democracy.” Harari says that this unimaginable intelligence and information networks gave rise to populist parties and charismatic leaders; “when people can no longer make sense of the world” and feel “overwhelmed by immense amounts of information they cannot digest,” they become easy prey to “conspiracy theories.”
Decentralised networks and the self-correcting mechanisms of democracy provide a “shield against totalitarianism.” Therefore, he cautions that AI tools like GPT-4 and AlphaGo operate as black boxes, with “their output and decisions based on opaque and intricate chains of networks.” When politicians show little interest in maintaining these networks, the weakening of self-correcting mechanisms poses significant risks. Harari states, not just weapons of mass destruction, “Human society can also be destroyed by weapons of social mass destruction, like stories that undermine our social bonds.” ~~ Mayank Jain Parichha