2024 NexusABriefHistoryofInformation

• (Harari, 2024) ⇒ Yuval Noah Harari. (2024). “Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI.” Penguin Random House. ISBN:978-0593734223

Subject Headings: Information Network, Truth Seeking, Power Dynamics, Human Agency, Technological Determinism, AI Development Innovation Event, Homo Sapiens, Self-Learning AI System.

Notes

• Decentralization: Harari emphasizes that no single entity should have complete control over information. He argues that both historical and modern networks work best when they distribute power and control, making it harder for any one group—be it a government or private corporation—to dominate the flow of information .
• Mutuality: He introduces the principle that if we increase the surveillance of individuals through AI and big data, then there must also be a corresponding increase in the surveillance of those who hold power. This mutual transparency can prevent abuses of power and maintain a balance within information networks .
• Flexibility: Effective information networks should be adaptable and open to change, allowing societies to restabilize during times of upheaval. Harari illustrates this point by showing how societies that have rigid information systems are more prone to collapse under pressure .
• Creation of New Realities: One of Harari’s most profound points is that information networks do not just represent reality; they actively create new social realities. This is evident in historical examples like the creation of shared myths (e.g., religions or political ideologies), and in modern contexts like the emergence of new AI systems that shape perceptions of truth and identity .
• Historical Contextualization: Harari traces the development of information networks from prehistoric times to the present, helping readers situate the digital revolution within a broader historical trajectory.
• Dual Nature of Information: The book highlights how information networks can drive progress or destruction, depending on how they are utilized.
• Information as Reality Shaper: Harari explores the role of information networks in not just representing but actively creating social realities and power structures.
• AI's Challenges: The book critically examines the risks posed by self-learning AI systems, particularly the alignment problem, where AI goals might diverge from human values.
• Democracy Under Threat: Harari analyzes the implications of AI and algorithms on democratic systems, emphasizing risks to informed citizenry and equitable decision-making.
• Ecological Warnings: The author underscores the existential crisis posed by environmental degradation despite humanity's technological advancements.
• Misinformation Epidemic: Harari discusses the challenges of distinguishing fact from fiction in the digital age, exacerbated by modern information networks.
• Interdisciplinary Perspective: The book integrates insights from history, philosophy, and technology, offering a holistic view of the interplay between information, power, and society.
• Critique of Information Control: Harari advocates for distributed control of information networks to prevent monopolies by governments or corporations.
• Call for Responsible AI Governance: The book argues for proactive regulation of AI, emphasizing that democratic societies must not leave this responsibility solely to private entities.

Cited By

• http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%222024%22+Nexus%3A+A+Brief+History+of+Information+Networks+from+the+Stone+Age+to+AI

2024

• Pulling Back the Silicon Curtain https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/10/books/review/nexus-yuval-noah-harari.html
  • Central Thesis: Harari posits that the difference between democracies and dictatorships is rooted in their approach to information control—democracies foster transparent networks for self-correction, while dictatorships focus on data control without regard for its truth value.
  • Critique of the First Half: The historical section is criticized for being an unfocused and dizzying overview of various historical events, lacking depth and coherence, making it feel like a scattered Theory of Everything.
  • Focus of the Second Half: The latter part of the book is an in-depth examination of AI risks, addressing issues such as the polarizing effects of social media algorithms, the outsourcing of human judgment, and potential loss of human agency due to opaque AI decision-making systems.
  • Key Warnings: Harari warns about a “Silicon Curtain” descending between humans and algorithms, potentially shutting people out of key decisions that shape society, echoing concerns similar to Churchill's "Iron Curtain" metaphor.
  • Policy Recommendations and Influence: Harari emphasizes that democratic societies have the ability to regulate AI responsibly and should not leave this task to tech companies alone, leveraging his platform as a global intellectual to argue for more proactive governance in AI development.

Quotes

• “The tendency to create powerful things with unintended consequences started not with the invention of the steam engine or AI but with the invention of religion. Prophets and theologians have summoned powerful spirits that were supposed to bring love and joy but occasionally ended up flooding the world with blood.”
• “In order to cooperate, Sapiens no longer had to know each other personally; they just had to know the same story.”
• “History isn’t the study of the past; it is the study of change. History teaches us what remains the same, what changes, and how things change.”
• “Knives and bombs do not themselves decide whom to kill. They are dumb tools, lacking the intelligence necessary to process information and make independent decisions. In contrast, AI can process information by itself, and thereby replace humans in decision making. AI isn’t a tool—it’s an agent.”
• “Why are we so good at accumulating more information and power, but far less successful at acquiring wisdom?”
• “The increasing unfathomability of our information network is one of the reasons for the recent wave of populist parties and charismatic leaders. When people can no longer make sense of the world, and when they feel overwhelmed by immense amounts of information they cannot digest, they become easy prey for conspiracy theories, and they turn for salvation to something they do understand—a human.”
• “What the example of astrology illustrates is that errors, lies, fantasies, and fictions are information, too. Contrary to what the naive view of information says, information has no essential link to truth, and its role in history isn’t to represent a preexisting reality. Rather, what information does is to create new realities by tying together disparate things—whether couples or empires. Its defining feature is connection rather than representation, and information is whatever connects different points into a network.”
• “Our tendency to summon powers we cannot control stems not from individual psychology but from the unique way our species cooperates in large numbers. 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 us to use that power unwisely. Our problem, then, is a network problem.”
• “Contrary to what the naive view believes, Homo sapiens didn’t conquer the world because we are talented at turning information into an accurate map of reality. Rather, the secret of our success is that we are talented at using information to connect lots of individuals. Unfortunately, this ability often goes hand in hand with believing in lies, errors, and fantasies.”
• “Silicon chips can create spies that never sleep, financiers that never forget, and despots that never die.”
• “As we have seen again and again throughout history, in a completely free information fight, truth tends to lose. To tilt the balance in favour of truth, networks must develop and maintain strong self-correcting mechanisms that reward truth telling. These self-correcting mechanisms are costly, but if you want to get the truth, you must invest in them.”
• “Homo Deus, a book that highlighted some of the dangers posed to humanity by the new information technologies. That book argued that the real hero of history has always been information, rather than Homo sapiens, and that scientists increasingly understand not just history but also biology, politics, and economics in terms of information flows.”
• “... democracy doesn't mean majority rule; rather, it means freedom and equality for all. Democracy is a system that guarantees everyone certain liberties, which even the majority cannot take away.”
• “How can a deep-seated distrust of all elites and institutions be squared with unwavering admiration for one leader and party? This is why populists ultimately depend on the mystical notion that the strongman embodies the people. When trust in bureaucratic institutions like election boards, courts, and newspapers is particularly low, an enhanced reliance on mythology is the only way to preserve order.”
• “The most important human skill for surviving the twenty-first century is likely to be flexibility, and democracies are more flexible than totalitarian regimes. While computers are nowhere near their full potential, the same is true of humans. This is something we have discovered again and again throughout history.”

References

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	Author	volume	Date Value	title	type	journal	titleUrl	doi	note	year
2024 NexusABriefHistoryofInformation	Yuval Noah Harari			Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI						2024