“In a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power.”
“Humans were always far better at inventing tools than using them wisely.”
“But liberalism has no obvious answers to the biggest problems we face: ecological collapse and technological disruption.”
“Two particularly important non-human abilities that AI possesses are connectivity and updateability.”
“At present, people are happy to give away their most valuable asset – their personal data – in exchange for free email services and funny cat videos. It is a bit like African and Native American tribes who unwittingly sold entire countries to European imperialists in exchange for colourful beads and cheap trinkets.”
“We should never underestimate human stupidity. Both on the personal and on the collective level, humans are prone to engage in self-destructive activities.”
“Morality doesn’t mean ‘following divine commands’. It means ‘reducing suffering’. Hence in order to act morally, you don’t need to believe in any myth or story. You just need to develop a deep appreciation of suffering.”
“Questions you cannot answer are usually far better for you than answers you cannot question.”
“The greatest crimes in modern history resulted not just from hatred and greed, but even more so from ignorance and indifference.”
“If we are willing to make such efforts in order to understand foreign cultures, unknown species and distant planets, it might be worth working just as hard in order to understand our own minds. And we had better understand our minds before the algorithms make our minds up for us.”
Gates Notes: A guide to worrying in the 21st century
The Guardian: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari review – a guru for our times?
Forbes: 21 Lessons For The 21st Century: A Wake-Up Call To Focus AI On Improving Talent Management
The Wall Street Journal: ‘21 Lessons for the 21st Century’ Review: The Yogabots Are Coming
The Washington Post: Worried fake news spells our doom? Humanity has always lived with it.