The acclaimed author of modern classic Sapiens turns his attention to the power of information networks and their importance to human evolution in this insightful and entertaining tour de force.
The story of how information networks have made, and unmade, our world from the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Sapiens.
For the last 100,000 years, humans have accumulated enormous power. But despite all our discoveries, inventions and conquests, we now find ourselves in an existential crisis. The world is on the verge of ecological collapse. Misinformation abounds. And we are rushing headlong into the age of AI – a new information network that threatens to annihilate us. If we are so wise, why are we so self-destructive?
NEXUS considers how the flow of information has shaped us, and our world. Taking us from the Stone Age through the Bible, early modern witch-hunts, Stalinism, Nazism and the resurgence of populism today, Yuval Noah Harari asks us to consider the complex relationship between information and truth, bureaucracy and mythology, wisdom and power. He explores how different societies and political systems have wielded information to achieve their goals, for good and ill. And he addresses the urgent choices we face as non-human intelligence threatens our very existence.
Information is not the raw material of truth; neither is it a mere weapon. NEXUS explores the hopeful middle ground between these extremes, and of rediscovering our shared humanity.
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
ISBN: 9781911717089
Number of pages: 528
Weight: 778 g
Dimensions: 241 x 162 x 43 mm
[Harari] sticks the world together in a gleaming shape that inspires and excites - TELEGRAPH
A superb narrative writer - GUARDIAN
[Harari] makes fun of people like myself who saw more information as always a good thing . . . I would basically say he’s right and I was wrong - Bill Gates
Engrossing . . . A diagnosis and a call to action . . . If [Nexus] sells anywhere near as well as Sapiens did, we’ll be that bit better equipped as a species to deal with the rise of the machines - OBSERVER
Harari's narrative is engaging, and his framing is strikingly original - ECONOMIST
Tremendous, thought-provoking and so very well reasoned. Harari gives us a vision of a rapidly approaching future that is at one and the same time thrilling and chilling. If there is one book that I would urge everyone to read – our political, corporate and cultural leaders most especially – it is Nexus - STEPHEN FRY
[Harari] connects past and future in a way that’s both enlightening and a little eerie. Nexus isn’t just a critique of technology; it’s a reflection on how we’ve always been vulnerable to those who control information. It’s a wake-up call in the gentlest, most urgent way - YOTAM OTTOLENGHI
Harari has a unique ability to unite both history’s finest details and its grandest megatrends in a single view. This deeply important book comes at a critical time as we all think through the implications of AI - MUSTAFA SULEYMAN
Harari is one of the most remarkable intellects of our generation – bold, original, erudite, provocative and entrancing. His latest book reimagines everything from literacy to AI and – like all his books – fundamentally shifts one’s view of the world - RORY STEWART
[An] always rewarding, often alarming book - LITERARY REVIEW
Anyone who’s enjoyed the authors other titles (Sapiens or Homo Deus) will love Nexus. If you’ve not already read his other books you’ll be desperate to once you’ve read this one!
In his usual accessible style...
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I really enjoyed this book.
It is about the movement of information with particular emphasis on AI, its implications and trends for the future. It is a profound and fascinating survey of how we got to this point...
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An extraordinary and necessary book.
Important for the future of humanity.
We need to read it and act
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