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Why
AI poses an existential danger to humanity?
Harari,
Y. N. (2024). Nexus: A brief history of information networks from the Stone Age
to AI. Random House.Sources:https://www.ynharari.com/book/nexus/https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/sep/10/nexus-a-brief-history-of-information-networks-from-the-stone-age-to-ai-by-yuval-noah-harari-review-rage-against-the-machineWhat
does the rise of artificial intelligence mean for human society? Will AI pose a
threat to human survival? Why do humans always create things that are difficult
to control and may lead to self-destruction? From nuclear bombs in the past to
AI in the present.In
his new book Nexus: A brief history of information networks from the Stone Age
to AI, Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari attempts to answer this question by
focusing on the variable of "information networks," tracing and
analyzing the history of information networks from the Stone Age to the age of
AI.In
his previous book Sapiens, Harari argues that humanity came to dominate the world
because humans learned how to cooperate on a large scale, thanks to their
storytelling ability. This ability enabled early humans to believe in entirely
fictional things, which became the foundation of religion, economies, and
nations. If storytelling is the basis of the Homo sapiens model, then stories
were actually one of the earliest information networks in human society. In
Nexus: A brief history of information networks from the Stone Age to AI, Harari
treats information networks as the fundamental structure that runs through
human history and as the core explanatory variable of his book. He believes
that humanity gained immense power by building large cooperative networks, but
the way these networks were established made humans prone to using that power
unwisely. The problems of human society are essentially problems of information
networks. Throughout history, human society has experienced different forms of
information networks: stories, texts, computers, and artificial intelligence.The
cover of Nexus features a carrier pigeon named Hector, belonging to Emperor
Napoleon III of France. Why was a pigeon chosen for the cover? When explaining
what information is in the book, Harari points out that in everyday language,
information is often associated with human-made symbols, such as written words
or spoken language. Harari tells the story of Cher Ami, a famous carrier
pigeon. Cher Ami, which means “Dear Friend” in
French, was a male pigeon that, during World War I, carried messages across the
front lines in France under heavy German fire, saving hundreds of American
soldiers.In
October 1918, while the American Expeditionary Forces were fighting to liberate
northern France from German occupation, a battalion of over 550 American
soldiers led by Major Whittlesey was trapped behind enemy lines. Known as the
Lost Battalion, they suffered multiple fire attacks from American army because
their position was unknown. Major Whittlesey urgently needed to inform
headquarters of their true location, but messengers were intercepted or killed
by the Germans. As a last resort, Whittlesey turned to a carrier pigeon,
attaching a note with their location to a small canister on Cher Ami’s
right leg before releasing him. Cher Ami was hit by German fire, sustaining
injuries to the chest, and his right leg was left hanging by a tendon. Despite
these severe wounds, Cher Ami delivered the critical message to the American
division headquarters. The army adjusted their strategy, rescuing the remaining
members of the Lost Battalion. Although Cher Ami lost his sight and had to have
his leg amputated, he survived and continued to serve, dying in 1919 in the
line of duty. Cher Ami was awarded the Croix de Guerre, as well as the Animals
in War & Peace Medal of Bravery, for his heroic achievements.![]()
The
stuffed body of Cher Ami on display at the Smithsonian InstitutionHarari
further explains that beyond human-made symbols, anything can be information.
The pigeon itself is a form of information. In the biblical myth of the Flood,
the dove that Noah sent out from the ark returned with an olive branch in its
beak, signaling that the floodwaters had finally receded. God then placed a
rainbow in the clouds as a promise never to flood the earth again. Since then,
pigeons, olive branches, and rainbows have become symbols of peace and
tolerance.Harari
goes on to argue that the essence of information lies not in representing
reality but in connecting things. Information links different points together,
organizing them into networks. This is the meaning behind the main title of the
book, Nexus. According to Harari, when examining the role of information in
human history, the key question is: how does it connect humans? What kind of
information networks does it create?The
power of human society stems from large-scale cooperation among humans, and
information is the glue that holds these cooperative networks together.
However, information is not the same as truth. It does not reliably tell the
truth about the world. More often, information can create fiction, fantasy, and
mass delusions, such as Nazism and Stalinism.Harari
cites a classic example of how information has led humanity astray. In the
1480s, Dominican friar Heinrich Kramer wrote and published Malleus Maleficarum
in Austria, a manual for exposing and executing witches. In this book, Kramer,
with his hateful imagination, detailed how Christians could uncover and defeat
witches. He advocated for the use of horrific torture to extract confessions
from suspected witches and insisted that the only punishment for the guilty was
execution. Malleus Maleficarum eventually became one of the best-selling books
of early modern Europe. By 1500, it had gone through eight editions, five more
by 1520, and sixteen more by 1670, with translations into many languages.
Without the invention of the printing press, this guide to exposing and
murdering witches in such a terrifying and delusional manner would not have
spread so far, allowing Kramer's deranged ideas to sweep across Europe, sparking
witch-hunting hysteria. Between the 16th and 17th centuries, it led to the
torture and execution of approximately 40,000 to 50,000 innocent people accused
of witchcraft. The victims came from all walks of life and ages, including
children as young as five.Even
today, the ideas in Malleus Maleficarum continue to influence the world, with
many contemporary conspiracy theories about global satanic plots, such as
QAnon, drawing upon and perpetuating Kramer's fantasies.Looking
at the history of information from the Stone Age to the Silicon Age, despite
the continuous rise in connectivity, truthfulness and wisdom have not followed
the same trajectory. The secret to Homo sapiens' success lies not in their
ability to accurately transform information into a realistic map of the world,
but in their skill at using information to connect large numbers of people.
However, this ability to connect often comes hand in hand with the belief in
lies, errors, and fantasies. Information networks rely on fictions and fantasies
to bind their members together and create order.The
history of human information networks is not a linear progression of triumph.
While these networks have become increasingly powerful, they have not
necessarily become wiser. If an information network prioritizes order over
truth, it can become incredibly strong, but it may not use that power wisely.Today,
every smartphone contains more information than the ancient Library of
Alexandria, enabling its owner to instantly connect with billions of people around
the world. Yet, despite the astonishing speed at which information is generated
and circulated, humanity is closer to self-destruction than ever before.Unlike
previous information network technologies, artificial intelligence is the first
that can make decisions and generate ideas independently, which is precisely
where the danger lies. According to Harari, the threat AI poses to human
society stems from two main factors. First, the power of AI may exacerbate
existing human conflicts, leading to more self-destruction. Harari uses the
analogy of the Cold War's Iron Curtain, comparing the current internet
fragmentation and AI competition among nations to a "Silicon
Curtain." "The code on your smartphone determines which side of the
Silicon Curtain you live on, which algorithms run your life, who controls your
attention, and where your data flows." It is becoming increasingly
difficult to access information across the Silicon Curtain, such as between
China and the U.S. or Russia and the European Union. Both sides are
increasingly operating on different digital networks, using different computer
codes, websites, apps, and hardware.The
world is increasingly divided by this Silicon Curtain. Once, new information
technologies propelled globalization, bringing people around the world closer
together. Ironically, today's information technologies are so powerful that
they may divide humanity by enclosing different groups in separate
"information cocoons." In just a few decades, the internet has shifted
from an open network to these isolated bubbles. The network wars of the AI era
could be even more dangerous than the nuclear standoff of the Cold War.Second,
the "Silicon Curtain" not only separates humans from each other but
also separates all humans from the new AI rulers. Regardless of where one
lives, humanity is surrounded by an incomprehensible algorithmic network that
manages our lives, reshapes politics and culture, and even redesigns our bodies
and minds. Harari warns that if a 21st-century totalitarian regime succeeds in
conquering the world, it might be run by non-human intelligence, rather than by
human dictators.
“Do not go gentle into that good night,Old
age should burn and rave at close of day;Rage,
rage against the dying of the light.Though
wise men at their end know dark is right,Because
their words had forked no lightning theyDo
not go gentle into that good night.Good
men, the last wave by, crying how brightTheir
frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,Rage,
rage against the dying of the light.Wild
men who caught and sang the sun in flight,And
learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,Do
not go gentle into that good night.Grave
men, near death, who see with blinding sightBlind
eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,Rage,
rage against the dying of the light.And
you, my father, there on the sad height,Curse,
bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.Do
not go gentle into that good night.Rage,
rage against the dying of the light.“——Dylan
Thomas, Do not go gentle into that good night, The Collected Poems of Dylan
Thomas: The New Centenary Edition
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