Nexus

A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI

By: Yuval Noah Harari

Narrated by: Vidish Athavale

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Sapiens comes the groundbreaking story of how information networks have made, and unmade, our world.

For the last 100,000 years, we Sapiens 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. For all that we have accomplished, why are we so self-destructive?

Nexus looks through the long lens of human history to consider how the flow of information has shaped us, and our world. Taking us from the Stone Age, through the canonization of 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 throughout history 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 in doing so, rediscovers our shared humanity.

©2024 Yuval Noah Harari (P)2024 Random House Audio

Great Book

Author never lets me down and always opens my mind. Reader is super. Complicated history and tech explained in a way east to understand.

Banger

Always a good listen but I gotta listen to it again just to make sure

The Historical Relevance of NOW

The historical continuity of information systems up to AI, plus the constant doses of wit and humorous insights are priceless.

The profound insight to possible futures with AI.

Great book to better understand the coming realities of the AI driven possible futures. It shows the importance of self correcting information systems and they can help shape R future in better ways.

Just skip to part 2

Unless you skipped grade school and dont have a tv, you can skip the endless political and religion sections that introduce the book. I almost stopped reading due to the mundanity and obv bias the author unavoidably drones on about for half of the book. The actual AI stuff in part 2 was great and why I purchased.

always great

Harari is always focused and complete. It was a great listen with great narration. Worth your time.

Politically biased

Yuval’s greatest fears about AI are already a reality in China today, yet he makes not mention of this at all. I wonder why…

Perhaps the most important book in the century - a must read

This book is insightful, entertaining, educational, and very very scary. A must read for all humans.

Aging leads to dying.

We get born we live then we die.
New people get born, live, learn, then die.
Planets like earth get born, live, makes people, makcomputers , age, then dies.
The whole universe gets born, lives searches for meaning , ages, sleeps, then dies.
What’s the big deal ?

A must read

Whatever assumptions you are starting with, whatever your interests, this book has much to offer as a thoughtful and engaged summary of our current situation.