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

I mean, it's Harari. What do you expect. Amazing book full of new ideas.

Harari's argument offers various concepts with eye-opening historical narratives. Each idea is easy to understand because of dichotomy—truth to order, story to list, superhuman bible to superhuman technology, intersubjective to objective and subjective, organic to inorganic, web to cocoon, etc. He sheds light on the information flow of historical events such as the witch hunts, Stallin's collectivization, and the Rohingya massacre. Every chapter is thought-provoking and page-turner.

若干まわりくどく勿体ぶってはいますが、A Iなど最新技術がいかに脅威となっているかを論じ警鐘を鳴らしています！ ただ、答えが見つからない諦めを感じます。

An amazing piece definitely must read. It’s worth reading at least hundreds of books. He is a great author and the inspiration!

Harari's books are invariably stimulating, but this one is downright frightening. Following the sequence of types of networks from the past to the present, Nexus is a wake-up call to what digital communication and AI can--and might--lead to. If a reader was looking at AI in particular as a "solution" to various problems, he or she will seriously reconsider the potential downsides--if not serious dangers--of casually allowing AI to handle a wide variety of tasks that all societies face.

視野が広がりますよ。

In this book, Harari warns that rapidly developing AI could pose a huge threat to our world if not properly understood and wisely regulated, contrary to entrepreneurs who regard AI as an all positive benefactor that is in the end to make the world better, or populist politicians who regard it as a mere power tool to satisfy their short-sighted wants. He says, "to create wiser networks, we must abandon both the naive and the populist views of information, put aside our fantasies of infallibility, and commit ourselves to the hard and rather mundane work of building institutions with strong self-correcting mechanisms." The whole book is to prove and explain how this is so. But because of that, this book is more like a research paper or an academic thesis than inspiring and reader-friendly books like "Sapiens" or "Homo Deus." I understand Harari wrote this book to help the world make wise decisions and people understand the importance of such actions when we can find ominous signs to indicate we are doing otherwise in quite a few countries, including his own. So I wish the book were a bit easier to follow even for readers who are not used to political / philosophical ideologies and a bit lengthy and abstract writing to explore the topic.

情報の拡散、共有という視点で、世界の激動の歴史、今後を占っているのは、この作者らしい新しい視点。

Generally I think I've been keeping up with AI developments. That is, until I hear about and test its next mind-bending ability. At which point I realise I was naive in thinking AI would never get this far. That's where this book comes in. Nexus is partly a history of technologies that convey human thought - from spoken word, stone tablets and books, through to computers, algorithms and AI. Harari has pinned down what was transformational about each technology, how it changed the landscape, and also how it was inevitably misused and exploited by humans. It's a lot of background, which I wasn't sure about at first, but by the end it definitely pays off because of the context provided. The book is very accessible and that does mean some repetition when bridging between stories. If you're new to the field, or are listening to the audiobook, or are dipping in and out, you'll probably appreciate that memory-jogging. It's a very thought-provoking read. I didn't know as much about its historical accounts as its modern ones, and Harari's style is clear and passionate without straying into emotional even if the subject matter is. The book is also thoroughly researched - I say that not only because of the numerous references, but because when Harari discusses topics I do know well (e.g. algorithms and 21st century), I pretty much always find myself in agreement with the text, which is rare for me. That reassurance meant I was able to get through it very quickly (especially the 2nd half). So why do I say "probably" in my review title? Well, if your job is future forecasting and you have some inside view of this tech that means you see it months or years in advance, then it is mainly the number of striking historical parallels that may enrich your view. But in fact I reckon this book's content is near-essential for much of the population, just like how we study and learn from major historical or scientific developments. We are all going to be affected by it more and more, unless you live totally off-grid forever. Is there a greater revolution in this time in history than the technological one(s)? This book says no. Today, you can certainly argue about AI's lack of personality and finesse, its influence in the political spheres and the controversy about the rights of artists and creators it has leveraged/exploited. (I always question now how much of the YouTube video I'm watching was conceived by a human or an AI, and how that affects trust.) But rightly or wrongly, the result is a staggering rate of development 24/7 which can almost be scary. And right now it's still in its infancy. In a nutshell, I'd say get a hold on this topic while it's still manageable. That's what I'm trying to do, and this book deepened my perspective hugely. Received in excellent condition. I wanted a paper copy for quicker reference, though I originally heard the audiobook instead.

This book is for literally everyone. The research that Harari puts in before creating such masterpieces in itself ensures that the readers will be able to greatly enhance their knowledge and awareness about History and how the historical systems has created the world we live in today. Information is a very crucial topic, and it is absolutely important to know about the history of information and connect it to the evolution of AI- this is exactly what the book offers. Brilliant.

A must read for every thinking person. The history of the violence-breeding Facebook algorithm in Myanmar I believe it was is particularly shocking. The positive feedback nature of tiktok and the like, rewarding our confirmation biases, may provide a rather simple and disturbing explanation of why tribes like Democrats and Republicans are drifting further and further apart.

Its not as good as sapience and deus

Nous confronte à la réalité de façon concise, clair et précise.