My Book Pick: Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
Aichi Insurance Physicians’ Newspaper
October 15, 2018
Yuval Noah Harari
Harper
September 10, 2019
Following Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Yuval Noah Harari published Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. Its subtitle points to the future of technology and science. In the twentieth century, humanity sought to overcome famine and war and to pursue happiness. Yet, when we look at the world as a whole, we have not necessarily succeeded. Having become the conqueror of the Earth, humanity must now use science and technology to envision its future, Harari argues.
The defeat of chess and Go champions by artificial intelligence symbolizes the transformation taking place before our eyes. Harari predicts that the Internet of Things and AI will eventually surpass human intelligence, that much of human labor will come to be governed by algorithms, and that most of the skills people have acquired over generations may become obsolete.
In the short term, attention is focused on issues such as conflicts in the Middle East and the Chinese economy. Over the span of several decades, however, climate change and growing inequality are likely to become increasingly important. From the grand perspective of life on Earth, Harari raises even more fundamental possibilities: the rise of biological algorithms and dataism, the separation of intelligence from consciousness, and the possibility that algorithms may ultimately surpass human beings. An algorithm, broadly speaking, is a system of logic and control. But could algorithms, as depicted in science-fiction films, eventually become the rulers of humanity?
Although the twentieth century overcame fascism, capitalism remains full of contradictions and has managed to survive, in part, by incorporating some of the strengths of socialism. Even if humanism is replaced by dataism, and even if life is increasingly defined by algorithms, it is unlikely that algorithms themselves will become the rulers of humanity.
Yet, when we look at the struggle for dominance between Google and TMC, Harari's argument seems to fit naturally into a world governed by market forces. But does it have universal validity?
Can immortality and bliss truly become common goals for humanity in the twenty-first century? This sweeping vision of the future, presented by a historian from the perspective of the entire course of human history, is certainly worth reading.
