Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
by Yuval Noah Harari
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57:36
Author gives live presentation for UCTV + slides
2M
28K
Apr, 2017
Spoiler:
The author explains that for centuries humans thought that the ultimate authority was god or a collection of gods and their representatives on Earth. He says that the humanist revolution shifted that authority to humans and their feelings, ideas and imaginations. In politics, this manifests in the idea that the voter knows best; in marketing, that the customer knows best. The next step is that algorithms will become the ultimate authority, understanding us better than we understand ourselves, and that “dataism” will replace humanism.
28:21
Author appears live at the Royal Institution in London
1M
17K
Sep, 2016
Spoiler:
The author makes a passionate case for AI doctors like IBM’s Watson, taking us through a detailed comparison of his doctor in Israel versus Watson. Not only would Watson constantly have access to his entire medical history and biometrics, Watson would remain up to date on the latest innovations, diseases, and treatments, and would never fall prey to human failings like bad mood, hunger or fatigue. He adds that computers are already better than humans at reading facial expression and tone of voice in order to discern our emotions.
9:40
Animated summary of the book and glimpse into the future
51K
727
Feb, 2017
Spoiler:
The video focuses on what have traditionally been our three biggest enemies, all of which still exist but are dwindling. One is famine, which has turned into an excess of food that is killing us via obesity and diabetes. The second is “pandemics.” In spite of the pandemic of 2020, it remains true that people largely die from non-infectious illnesses like cancer and heart disease. The third is war, which still exists but is less dangerous than sugar as far as human life, death, and health.
1:55
Excerpt from author interview with Audible UK
8K
25
Nov, 2016
Spoiler:
The author shares that the book describes how an “insignificant ape” from East Africa became the master of planet Earth, morphing from Homo sapiens to Homo deus. He says we no longer need to channel our fear of death into religion and a dream of the afterlife, but that we will feasibly be able to live “forever.” He predicts that just as the industrial revolution created the working class, AI will create “the useless class,” as there will be nothing humans can do better than AI.
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