Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI | Yuval Noah Harari

From renowned historian and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Yuval Noah Harari comes the 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. 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.

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 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

Prof. Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, philosopher and the global bestselling author of Sapiens- A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus- A Brief History of Tomorrow, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, the graphic adaptation series Sapiens- A Graphic History, and Unstoppable Us, his first series of books for children. His books have sold over 45 million copies in 65 languages, with Sapiens alone selling 25 million copies since it was first published in 2013. A New York Times and Sunday Times #1 bestseller, Sapiens spent an incredible 96 consecutive weeks in the top 3 of the Sunday Times bestseller list. Yuval Noah Harari is also behind Sapienship - an international social impact company focused on education and storytelling, which he co-founded with his husband Itzik Yahav. Harari is considered one of the world's most influential public intellectuals today.