Reading 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Yuval Noah Harari has written a thought-provoking and insightful book about the postmodern, post-truth human condition and the considerations we must make as a species if we are to survive and even thrive in the coming decades. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is filled with erudite, innovative thinking that, to me, seems essential if we are to prepare ourselves for what is coming next.
First of all, let’s be clear about the “lessons.” Harari, a distinguished history professor, does not fill this work with self-help (actually more like global-help) how-to suggestions, although he does offer a few along the way. The lessons, rather, are like lectures, each chapter simply discussing the aspects and ramifications of humanity’s more pressing challenges along with our fantastic potential. The result is an accessible, rational, realistic appraisal of where we are going and what we need to be doing to avoid near-future hazards and maximize human possibility.
Each chapter is a lesson on a specific one-word topic, with a subtitle that is the closest the book comes to offering what we normally think of as lessons (teachings). It begins with “Disillusionment” which reads as if Nietzsche might have written it, although Harari does not mention the philosopher at all through the course of his work. As he writes, offering one of his choice morsels of advice: “We are in the nihilist moment of disillusionment and anger, after people have lost faith in the old stories but before they have embraced a new one. So what next? The first step is to tone down prophecies of doom and switch from panic mode to bewilderment. Panic is a form of hubris. It comes from the smug feeling that one knows exactly where the world is headed: down. Bewilderment is more humble and therefore more clear-sighted. Do you feel like running down the street crying ‘The apocalypse is upon us’? Try telling yourself, ‘No, it’s not that. Truth is, I just don’t understand what’s going on in the world.’” (page 17)
Acceptance of humanity's lack of comprehension about the world’s contemporary complexities means we can move forward with a clearer assessment and acceptance of issues. This subtle shift can allow us to discover new approaches that make sense of things and replaces the "old stories" offered by business, politics and religion with something of genuine relevancy to our situation. What is our situation? In the chapter on “Work” we discover that in the next few decades (Harari uses the year 2050 for the sake of discussion) there will be no jobs for unskilled laborers. All of those will be taken over by robots running on Artificial Intelligence (AI). There is a serious danger that a large “useless class” will emerge.
Even skilled professions such as a simple check-up or diagnosis by the family doctor will be replaced by machines better equipped to analyze medical data, apply tested and proven algorithms, and provide a more accurate diagnosis and treatment. But, overall, Harari sees a new demand for skilled human professions to maintain the AI and there is tremendous potential for a new working class of “human-computer centaur teams.” This will require humans to be more highly-trained on average than most people are today.
Before you dismiss this as science fiction, consider the emergence of AI all around us already. Harari provides one example on something that happened on December 17, 2017 (the book is filled with highly current examples supporting everything Harari contends). Ever since the 1990’s computer chess programs have routinely beaten human grandmasters at chess. This dominance has evolved into the world computer chess championship, where computer programs play each other.
The 2016 champion was a program called Stockfish 8. Google created the AlphaZero program to compete in 2017. Almost all chess programs before AlphaZero worked on creating massive databases with millions of historic chess games that the program could access and apply to a given situation with fantastic sorting and analysis algorithms. AlphaZero was different. It was designed to use machine learning principles and basically taught itself how to play chess, without a database of historical chess moves at all. AlphaZero became the 2017 world computer chess champion with only minimal human input and it defeated Stockfish in 28 out of 100 games without losing once, the rest being draws. Because AlphaZero taught itself how to play it made many novel moves that human grandmasters would have likely not considered. This example of machine learning reveals that we are currently in the infancy of building machines that will outperform humans in unconventional ways in the near future.
Harari contends we are not prepared for this. Not only will humanity have to upgrade its skill set overall to avoid becoming “irrelevant” but we will have to constantly revise ourselves to keep pace the accelerated change heralded by AI, robotics, and 3D printers. A productive human being will have to “upgrade” themselves many times during their lifetime. The “old story” of going to college, getting a degree, and then applying yourself based upon that for the rest of your life is essentially ending.
“Liberty” is a chapter that discusses how Big Data is only beginning to apply algorithms to the mass of humanity. “For we are now at the confluence of two immense revolutions. Biologists are deciphering the mysteries of the human body, and in particular of the human brain and human feelings. At the same time computer scientists are giving unprecedented data-processing power. When the biotech revolution merges with the infotech revolution, it will produce Big Data algorithms that can monitor and understand my feelings much better than I can, and then authority will probably shift from humans to computers. My illusion of free will is likely to disintegrate as I daily encounter institutions, corporations, and government agencies that understand and manipulate what was until now my inaccessible inner realm.” (page 49)
In a nutshell, AI will “learn” to make better decisions about us than we can for ourselves. The concept of free will, a contentious issue at the moment within cognitive science and philosophical circles, will shift from whether or not humans have a free will to how computer-assisted decisions will redefine what freedom means. Are we freer when better decisions and fewer mistakes are made about our life choices in everything from what to eat tonight to what career path to pursue? “As authority shifts from humans to algorithms, we may no longer view the world as a playground of autonomous individuals struggling to make the right choices. Instead, we might perceive the entire universe as a flow of data, see organisms as little more than biochemical algorithms, and believe that humanity’s cosmic vocation is to create an all-encompassing data-processing system – and then merge into it,” (page 56) Are you ready for that?
One aspect of this dramatic paradigm shift in human liberty is whether or not this AI will take over the world ala The Matrix. The author has no concern about this. His answer is a definitive “no.” This is because AI intelligence should not be equated with human consciousness. “Intelligence is the ability to solve problems. Consciousness is the ability to feel things such as pain, joy, love, and anger. We tend to confuse the two because in humans and other mammals intelligence goes hand in hand with consciousness. Mammals solve most problems by feeling things. Computers, however, solve problems in a very different way.” (page 69) It is an interesting and important distinction. And I think it is a necessary one to relevantly posture ourselves for the near future.
In general, the book frames the future as grounded completely in what is happening in technology and biology today and how these very real and definable trends are likely to merge with our very humanity going forward. Harari defines three specific problems facing humanity right now: climate change, nuclear weapons, and the coming biotech/AI revolution. He then proceeds to deconstruct how our traditional (and even our progressive) forms of community, civilization, nationalism, and religion are all ill-equipped to help us address these concerns.
With respect to nationalism, for example, Harari points out that the formation of nations was once a great and essential advance in human civilization. He uses the example of the Nile River Valley a couple of millennia ago. Before a nation was formed the banks of the Nile were controlled by hundreds of tribes. Generally speaking, the larger the tribe the greater the length of the river it controlled. But no tribe controlled enough to deal with a season when the Nile flooded or the dry seasons when there wasn’t enough water for the crops. Some tribes developed a canal system to control both of these situations. But it only worked if all the tribes joined into a mega-tribe (nation) and did canal work in cooperation.
This “old story” is still somewhat applicable because today we face global warming, a problem beyond the ability to any nation to solve. This problem will only be solved by a “mega-nation” (global) cooperation similar to that which made Egypt one of the world’s first great powers. But that is not Harari’s point. Instead the “lesson” here is that nations are not longer relevant to the greatest threats to our existence.
Essentially, almost all “old stories” no longer apply today. They are, more or less, the residual institutions of humanity’s tribal culture. Tribal thinking, whether it be religious or national, is inadequate to address global problems. The three critical issues before us transcend all individuals and states and corporations and institutions of worship.
“Religions still have a lot of political power, inasmuch as they can cement national identities and even ignite World War Three. But when it comes to solving rather than stoking the global problems of the twenty-first century, they don’t seem to offer much. Though many traditional religions espouse universal values and claim cosmic validity, at present they are used mainly as the handmaiden of modern nationalism, whether in North Korea, Russia, Iran, or Israel. They therefore make it even harder to transcend national differences and find a global solution to the threats of nuclear war, ecological collapse, and technological disruption.” (page 138)
The chapter on “Humility” is a detailed argument that morality and ethics are not limited by the purview of religion. Rather, they have existed for thousands of years as just a part of our basic humanity. “None of the religions or nations of today existed when humans colonized the world, domesticated plants and animals, built the first cities, or invented writing and money. Morality, art, spirituality, and creativity are universal human abilities embedded in our DNA. Their genesis was in Stone Age Africa. It is therefore crass egotism to ascribe to them a more recent place and time, be it China in the age of the Yellow Emperor, Greece in the age of Plato, or Arabia in the age of Muhammad.” (page 185)
Likewise, the “God” chapter argues traditional notions of God’s authority are actually a reflection of larger, natural cultural forces at work in the human past. “Yet we do not really need such complex, long-term theories to find a natural basis for universal compassion….On a much more immediate level, hurting others always hurts me too. Every violent act in the world begins with a violent desire in somebody’s mind, which disturbs that person’s own peace and happiness before it disturbs the peace and happiness of anyone else.” (page 205)
It isn't surprising that Harari advocates the virtues of secularism. Given the fact that traditional religion and politics are irrelevant to the critical problems facing our future, secularism is much more open to the possibilities for finding solutions. It allows a more “scientific” approach to our the challenges of our lives. Because morality and compassion are basic, universal human experiences, it is silly to think that just because a person is secular they lose their connection with morality and compassion.
Instead, the “freedom to think, investigate, and experiment” is a more useful tool than belief or policy. The “freedom to doubt” paradoxically demands we take more “responsibility” for our lives. Since there is no higher power to help us out, we must accept our duty to take global challenges into our own hands. “Every religion, ideology, and creed has its shadow and no matter which creed you follow you should acknowledge your shadow and avoid the naïve reassurance that ‘it cannot happen to us.’ Secular science has at least one big advantage over most traditional religions – namely, that it is not inherently terrified of its own shadow, and it is in principle willing to admit its mistakes and blind spots. If you believe in an absolute truth revealed by a transcendent power, you cannot allow yourself to admit any error, for that would nullify your whole story. But if you believe in the quest for truth by fallible humans, admitting blunders is part of the game.” (pp. 217-218)
Harari then examines what he means by “truth” in the “quest for truth.” In doing so he equates “fake news” not as a trendy expression but, boldly, as something that has always been a part of our humanity in the form of religion. “I am aware that many people might be upset by my equating religion with fake news, but that’s exactly my point. When a thousand people believe some made-up story for one month, that’s fake news. When a billion people believe it for a thousand years, that’s a religion, and we are admonished not to call it ‘fake news’ in order not to hurt the feelings of the faithful (or incur their wrath). Note, however, I am not denying the effectiveness and potential benevolence of religion. Just the opposite. For better or worse, fiction is among the most effective tools in humanity’s tool kit. By bringing people together, religious creeds make large-scale human cooperation possible. They inspire people to build hospitals, schools, and bridges in addition to armies and prisons.” (page 239)
He argues that we are all responsible “to invest time and effort” to get better at ascertaining fact from fiction and learn to think more critically not just about the information we receive but the sources of that information as well. Further, while science is not perfect, it is constantly seeking to revise itself. Reading scientific literature on a given subject will broaden your understanding of it as well as reveal how to test and consider pieces of information. This, Harari states, is fundamental to adapting to humanity’s very pressing global problems.
Harari has a fascinating take on the genre of science fiction as a useful fictional tool to open our mind for exploring possibilities for the future. As our creative potential is thus inspired, education will fill our minds with knowledge and with learning the paths of knowledge. Education is the first step toward “Resilience”, the book’s final section where the author offers a way for human beings to Be in the face of the death of all the “old stories” without any new ones yet generated to fill their place.
But "Education", too, has a shadow. “As biotechnology and machine learning improve, it will become easier to manipulate people’s deepest emotions and desires, and it will become more dangerous than ever to just follow your heart. When Coca-Cola, Amazon, Baidu, or the government knows how to pull the strings of your heart and press the buttons of your brain, will you still be able to tell the difference between your self and their marketing experts?
"To succeed at such a daunting task, you will need to work very hard at getting to know your operating system better – to know what you are and what you want from life. This is, of course, the oldest advice in the book: know thyself.” (pp. 271-272) It is critical for us to look deeply into ourselves if we don’t want the algorithms to take over our decision-making for us.
For Harari our education must be founded upon “Meaning”. But, like most everything else, this fundamentally must come from some source other than the “old stories” we have been telling ourselves religiously, culturally, and politically. In fact, the key here is that meaning is not a story at all. Meaning, rather, is what I assign to my life. This is our “cosmic vocation.” This points toward an inward journey each of us must take, if we are not going to let governments and corporations and religions dictate our essence for us in the AI/biotech near-future, where Earth is much hotter than it is now and our nuclear arsenals are more potent than ever.
Harari points inward but he does not prescribe a universal manner of inward reflection, he merely offers, as an example, his own experience with “Meditation” in the final chapter of the book. He meditates two hours every day and, for one or two months every year, he goes on meditation retreats. He ends the book with an ominous tone. “Self-observation has never been easy, but it might get harder with time. As history unfolded, humans created more and more complex stories about themselves, which made it increasingly difficult to know who we really are….In the near future, algorithms might bring this process to completion, making it well-nigh impossible for people to observe the reality about themselves. It will be the algorithms that will decide for us who we are and what we should know about ourselves. For a few more years of decades, we still have a choice. If we make the effort, we can still investigate who we really are. But if we want to make use of this opportunity, we had better do it now.” (page 323)
For Harari, we must learn to observe ourselves. Meditation is a way to do that but he acknowledges that it is his way and there are probably others. The important part is not the technique but the end result: just observe. As simple as this may sound, it is the most fundamental "lesson" in the book. The relevant resilience required for us to literally discover who we are and redefine ourselves in the face of global challenges to our survival as a species is a transcendental problem.
The disillusionment we feel can be legitimately dealt with only through the resilience that comes from the habits of learning, introspection, and general observation. Our education, even based in science, will fail to assist us with the issues of the next 30 years if we do not use this time to learn who we are as a species and as individuals and to be aware of the potential pitfalls of AI/biotechnology and global ecological disaster. We are not the algorithms. Robots are not consciousness. We are altering the Earth itself. We could obliterate everything in a nuclear holocaust. Harari simply says, do not despair, but learn how to be more attentive people.
First of all, let’s be clear about the “lessons.” Harari, a distinguished history professor, does not fill this work with self-help (actually more like global-help) how-to suggestions, although he does offer a few along the way. The lessons, rather, are like lectures, each chapter simply discussing the aspects and ramifications of humanity’s more pressing challenges along with our fantastic potential. The result is an accessible, rational, realistic appraisal of where we are going and what we need to be doing to avoid near-future hazards and maximize human possibility.
Each chapter is a lesson on a specific one-word topic, with a subtitle that is the closest the book comes to offering what we normally think of as lessons (teachings). It begins with “Disillusionment” which reads as if Nietzsche might have written it, although Harari does not mention the philosopher at all through the course of his work. As he writes, offering one of his choice morsels of advice: “We are in the nihilist moment of disillusionment and anger, after people have lost faith in the old stories but before they have embraced a new one. So what next? The first step is to tone down prophecies of doom and switch from panic mode to bewilderment. Panic is a form of hubris. It comes from the smug feeling that one knows exactly where the world is headed: down. Bewilderment is more humble and therefore more clear-sighted. Do you feel like running down the street crying ‘The apocalypse is upon us’? Try telling yourself, ‘No, it’s not that. Truth is, I just don’t understand what’s going on in the world.’” (page 17)
Acceptance of humanity's lack of comprehension about the world’s contemporary complexities means we can move forward with a clearer assessment and acceptance of issues. This subtle shift can allow us to discover new approaches that make sense of things and replaces the "old stories" offered by business, politics and religion with something of genuine relevancy to our situation. What is our situation? In the chapter on “Work” we discover that in the next few decades (Harari uses the year 2050 for the sake of discussion) there will be no jobs for unskilled laborers. All of those will be taken over by robots running on Artificial Intelligence (AI). There is a serious danger that a large “useless class” will emerge.
Even skilled professions such as a simple check-up or diagnosis by the family doctor will be replaced by machines better equipped to analyze medical data, apply tested and proven algorithms, and provide a more accurate diagnosis and treatment. But, overall, Harari sees a new demand for skilled human professions to maintain the AI and there is tremendous potential for a new working class of “human-computer centaur teams.” This will require humans to be more highly-trained on average than most people are today.
Before you dismiss this as science fiction, consider the emergence of AI all around us already. Harari provides one example on something that happened on December 17, 2017 (the book is filled with highly current examples supporting everything Harari contends). Ever since the 1990’s computer chess programs have routinely beaten human grandmasters at chess. This dominance has evolved into the world computer chess championship, where computer programs play each other.
The 2016 champion was a program called Stockfish 8. Google created the AlphaZero program to compete in 2017. Almost all chess programs before AlphaZero worked on creating massive databases with millions of historic chess games that the program could access and apply to a given situation with fantastic sorting and analysis algorithms. AlphaZero was different. It was designed to use machine learning principles and basically taught itself how to play chess, without a database of historical chess moves at all. AlphaZero became the 2017 world computer chess champion with only minimal human input and it defeated Stockfish in 28 out of 100 games without losing once, the rest being draws. Because AlphaZero taught itself how to play it made many novel moves that human grandmasters would have likely not considered. This example of machine learning reveals that we are currently in the infancy of building machines that will outperform humans in unconventional ways in the near future.
Harari contends we are not prepared for this. Not only will humanity have to upgrade its skill set overall to avoid becoming “irrelevant” but we will have to constantly revise ourselves to keep pace the accelerated change heralded by AI, robotics, and 3D printers. A productive human being will have to “upgrade” themselves many times during their lifetime. The “old story” of going to college, getting a degree, and then applying yourself based upon that for the rest of your life is essentially ending.
“Liberty” is a chapter that discusses how Big Data is only beginning to apply algorithms to the mass of humanity. “For we are now at the confluence of two immense revolutions. Biologists are deciphering the mysteries of the human body, and in particular of the human brain and human feelings. At the same time computer scientists are giving unprecedented data-processing power. When the biotech revolution merges with the infotech revolution, it will produce Big Data algorithms that can monitor and understand my feelings much better than I can, and then authority will probably shift from humans to computers. My illusion of free will is likely to disintegrate as I daily encounter institutions, corporations, and government agencies that understand and manipulate what was until now my inaccessible inner realm.” (page 49)
In a nutshell, AI will “learn” to make better decisions about us than we can for ourselves. The concept of free will, a contentious issue at the moment within cognitive science and philosophical circles, will shift from whether or not humans have a free will to how computer-assisted decisions will redefine what freedom means. Are we freer when better decisions and fewer mistakes are made about our life choices in everything from what to eat tonight to what career path to pursue? “As authority shifts from humans to algorithms, we may no longer view the world as a playground of autonomous individuals struggling to make the right choices. Instead, we might perceive the entire universe as a flow of data, see organisms as little more than biochemical algorithms, and believe that humanity’s cosmic vocation is to create an all-encompassing data-processing system – and then merge into it,” (page 56) Are you ready for that?
One aspect of this dramatic paradigm shift in human liberty is whether or not this AI will take over the world ala The Matrix. The author has no concern about this. His answer is a definitive “no.” This is because AI intelligence should not be equated with human consciousness. “Intelligence is the ability to solve problems. Consciousness is the ability to feel things such as pain, joy, love, and anger. We tend to confuse the two because in humans and other mammals intelligence goes hand in hand with consciousness. Mammals solve most problems by feeling things. Computers, however, solve problems in a very different way.” (page 69) It is an interesting and important distinction. And I think it is a necessary one to relevantly posture ourselves for the near future.
In general, the book frames the future as grounded completely in what is happening in technology and biology today and how these very real and definable trends are likely to merge with our very humanity going forward. Harari defines three specific problems facing humanity right now: climate change, nuclear weapons, and the coming biotech/AI revolution. He then proceeds to deconstruct how our traditional (and even our progressive) forms of community, civilization, nationalism, and religion are all ill-equipped to help us address these concerns.
With respect to nationalism, for example, Harari points out that the formation of nations was once a great and essential advance in human civilization. He uses the example of the Nile River Valley a couple of millennia ago. Before a nation was formed the banks of the Nile were controlled by hundreds of tribes. Generally speaking, the larger the tribe the greater the length of the river it controlled. But no tribe controlled enough to deal with a season when the Nile flooded or the dry seasons when there wasn’t enough water for the crops. Some tribes developed a canal system to control both of these situations. But it only worked if all the tribes joined into a mega-tribe (nation) and did canal work in cooperation.
This “old story” is still somewhat applicable because today we face global warming, a problem beyond the ability to any nation to solve. This problem will only be solved by a “mega-nation” (global) cooperation similar to that which made Egypt one of the world’s first great powers. But that is not Harari’s point. Instead the “lesson” here is that nations are not longer relevant to the greatest threats to our existence.
Essentially, almost all “old stories” no longer apply today. They are, more or less, the residual institutions of humanity’s tribal culture. Tribal thinking, whether it be religious or national, is inadequate to address global problems. The three critical issues before us transcend all individuals and states and corporations and institutions of worship.
“Religions still have a lot of political power, inasmuch as they can cement national identities and even ignite World War Three. But when it comes to solving rather than stoking the global problems of the twenty-first century, they don’t seem to offer much. Though many traditional religions espouse universal values and claim cosmic validity, at present they are used mainly as the handmaiden of modern nationalism, whether in North Korea, Russia, Iran, or Israel. They therefore make it even harder to transcend national differences and find a global solution to the threats of nuclear war, ecological collapse, and technological disruption.” (page 138)
The chapter on “Humility” is a detailed argument that morality and ethics are not limited by the purview of religion. Rather, they have existed for thousands of years as just a part of our basic humanity. “None of the religions or nations of today existed when humans colonized the world, domesticated plants and animals, built the first cities, or invented writing and money. Morality, art, spirituality, and creativity are universal human abilities embedded in our DNA. Their genesis was in Stone Age Africa. It is therefore crass egotism to ascribe to them a more recent place and time, be it China in the age of the Yellow Emperor, Greece in the age of Plato, or Arabia in the age of Muhammad.” (page 185)
Likewise, the “God” chapter argues traditional notions of God’s authority are actually a reflection of larger, natural cultural forces at work in the human past. “Yet we do not really need such complex, long-term theories to find a natural basis for universal compassion….On a much more immediate level, hurting others always hurts me too. Every violent act in the world begins with a violent desire in somebody’s mind, which disturbs that person’s own peace and happiness before it disturbs the peace and happiness of anyone else.” (page 205)
It isn't surprising that Harari advocates the virtues of secularism. Given the fact that traditional religion and politics are irrelevant to the critical problems facing our future, secularism is much more open to the possibilities for finding solutions. It allows a more “scientific” approach to our the challenges of our lives. Because morality and compassion are basic, universal human experiences, it is silly to think that just because a person is secular they lose their connection with morality and compassion.
Instead, the “freedom to think, investigate, and experiment” is a more useful tool than belief or policy. The “freedom to doubt” paradoxically demands we take more “responsibility” for our lives. Since there is no higher power to help us out, we must accept our duty to take global challenges into our own hands. “Every religion, ideology, and creed has its shadow and no matter which creed you follow you should acknowledge your shadow and avoid the naïve reassurance that ‘it cannot happen to us.’ Secular science has at least one big advantage over most traditional religions – namely, that it is not inherently terrified of its own shadow, and it is in principle willing to admit its mistakes and blind spots. If you believe in an absolute truth revealed by a transcendent power, you cannot allow yourself to admit any error, for that would nullify your whole story. But if you believe in the quest for truth by fallible humans, admitting blunders is part of the game.” (pp. 217-218)
Harari then examines what he means by “truth” in the “quest for truth.” In doing so he equates “fake news” not as a trendy expression but, boldly, as something that has always been a part of our humanity in the form of religion. “I am aware that many people might be upset by my equating religion with fake news, but that’s exactly my point. When a thousand people believe some made-up story for one month, that’s fake news. When a billion people believe it for a thousand years, that’s a religion, and we are admonished not to call it ‘fake news’ in order not to hurt the feelings of the faithful (or incur their wrath). Note, however, I am not denying the effectiveness and potential benevolence of religion. Just the opposite. For better or worse, fiction is among the most effective tools in humanity’s tool kit. By bringing people together, religious creeds make large-scale human cooperation possible. They inspire people to build hospitals, schools, and bridges in addition to armies and prisons.” (page 239)
He argues that we are all responsible “to invest time and effort” to get better at ascertaining fact from fiction and learn to think more critically not just about the information we receive but the sources of that information as well. Further, while science is not perfect, it is constantly seeking to revise itself. Reading scientific literature on a given subject will broaden your understanding of it as well as reveal how to test and consider pieces of information. This, Harari states, is fundamental to adapting to humanity’s very pressing global problems.
Harari has a fascinating take on the genre of science fiction as a useful fictional tool to open our mind for exploring possibilities for the future. As our creative potential is thus inspired, education will fill our minds with knowledge and with learning the paths of knowledge. Education is the first step toward “Resilience”, the book’s final section where the author offers a way for human beings to Be in the face of the death of all the “old stories” without any new ones yet generated to fill their place.
But "Education", too, has a shadow. “As biotechnology and machine learning improve, it will become easier to manipulate people’s deepest emotions and desires, and it will become more dangerous than ever to just follow your heart. When Coca-Cola, Amazon, Baidu, or the government knows how to pull the strings of your heart and press the buttons of your brain, will you still be able to tell the difference between your self and their marketing experts?
"To succeed at such a daunting task, you will need to work very hard at getting to know your operating system better – to know what you are and what you want from life. This is, of course, the oldest advice in the book: know thyself.” (pp. 271-272) It is critical for us to look deeply into ourselves if we don’t want the algorithms to take over our decision-making for us.
For Harari our education must be founded upon “Meaning”. But, like most everything else, this fundamentally must come from some source other than the “old stories” we have been telling ourselves religiously, culturally, and politically. In fact, the key here is that meaning is not a story at all. Meaning, rather, is what I assign to my life. This is our “cosmic vocation.” This points toward an inward journey each of us must take, if we are not going to let governments and corporations and religions dictate our essence for us in the AI/biotech near-future, where Earth is much hotter than it is now and our nuclear arsenals are more potent than ever.
Harari points inward but he does not prescribe a universal manner of inward reflection, he merely offers, as an example, his own experience with “Meditation” in the final chapter of the book. He meditates two hours every day and, for one or two months every year, he goes on meditation retreats. He ends the book with an ominous tone. “Self-observation has never been easy, but it might get harder with time. As history unfolded, humans created more and more complex stories about themselves, which made it increasingly difficult to know who we really are….In the near future, algorithms might bring this process to completion, making it well-nigh impossible for people to observe the reality about themselves. It will be the algorithms that will decide for us who we are and what we should know about ourselves. For a few more years of decades, we still have a choice. If we make the effort, we can still investigate who we really are. But if we want to make use of this opportunity, we had better do it now.” (page 323)
For Harari, we must learn to observe ourselves. Meditation is a way to do that but he acknowledges that it is his way and there are probably others. The important part is not the technique but the end result: just observe. As simple as this may sound, it is the most fundamental "lesson" in the book. The relevant resilience required for us to literally discover who we are and redefine ourselves in the face of global challenges to our survival as a species is a transcendental problem.
The disillusionment we feel can be legitimately dealt with only through the resilience that comes from the habits of learning, introspection, and general observation. Our education, even based in science, will fail to assist us with the issues of the next 30 years if we do not use this time to learn who we are as a species and as individuals and to be aware of the potential pitfalls of AI/biotechnology and global ecological disaster. We are not the algorithms. Robots are not consciousness. We are altering the Earth itself. We could obliterate everything in a nuclear holocaust. Harari simply says, do not despair, but learn how to be more attentive people.
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