Preview
  • Nexus

  • A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI
  • By: Yuval Noah Harari
  • Narrated by: Vidish Athavale
  • Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (338 ratings)

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Nexus

By: Yuval Noah Harari
Narrated by: Vidish Athavale
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Publisher's summary

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Sapiens comes the groundbreaking 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. For all that we have accomplished, why are we so self-destructive?

Nexus looks through the long lens of human history to consider how the flow of information has shaped us, and our world. Taking us from the Stone Age, through the canonization of 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 throughout history 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 in doing so, rediscovers our shared humanity.

©2024 Yuval Noah Harari (P)2024 Random House Audio
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Editorial Review

A synthesis of human history, for the AI age
Though you don’t need to have listened to Sapiens or Homo Deus to enjoy Nexus, Yuval Noah Harari’s latest feels like a logical continuation of his previous explorations of human history. Harari once again excels at distilling thousands of years of history into accessible observations that simultaneously feel both obvious and revelatory, this time performed by Vidish Athavale. From the oral storytelling of our past, to the audiobooks and podcasts of our present, and the AI of our future, Harari shows how we’re on the precipice of another great (but potentially devastating) cultural and technological shift in information sharing—alongside some potential solutions to ensure that we continue to harness tech and information to our benefit, rather than our detriment. — Michael C., Audible Editor

Interview: With "Nexus," Yuval Noah Harari gives AI the big-history treatment

'Most humans are good. But when you give good people bad information, they make bad decisions.'
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  • Nexus
  • 'Most humans are good. But when you give good people bad information, they make bad decisions.'

What listeners say about Nexus

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Must needed book for 2024!!!

Yuval's arguments are compelling and hard to confront. In this book he argues that human history is an information network history, and explain the evolution of this network is the essence of our own survival. We need to be very clever in the coming years on how we decide to do in terms of regulation, spread, and inforce the next steps, or the next one will be our last mistake.

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About much more than AI

My 4th YNH read/listen, & though I’ve quite liked them all, I think this one is the most important to widely disseminate. Each of the 4 major sections is like a book in itself & individually worth the price of admission. This book is a strong reminder of how much we need thoughtful historians like YNH to make sense of an ever more complicated world. Highly recommended.

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Amazing Book

Harari's oeuvre is already impressive, and this book is on par with the trademark of thought-provoking ideas which permeate in his work. Negative reviews are almost exclusively, and quite obviously, lauded from personal biases. The books get people thinking about the big ideas - that's the point of writing the books.

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Another great book by Harari!

Very well written and enjoyable - important questions for the future of humanity, tied to a historical perspective.

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Slightly off the mark

overall another great book by a well thoughtful author but while I'm in no shape or ability qualified to review his intellectual ability yet i found the book missing yhethe mark of AI evolution or revolution. it felt more of an overall look at human democracy and ability or lack of it to manage their own morality and sense of justice and equality. nonetheless a good book to read even if not an important one for AI enthusiasts

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The scariest horror book

I previously thought Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale was the scariest horror book because it was a fiction based on real historical events. Now I feel Nexus is the scariest because it is a nonfiction based on the past and ongoing events. I appreciate Harari’s sharp insights into human beings encompassing time and space.

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Compelling Analysis

Throughout times people have been misleading and persecuted at the whims of the powerful and unethical. Harari breaks down the dangers of AI succinctly and matter-factly. Google gave away its search services to collect the data required to power AI. Them and China are playing the long game and we will be their pawns if we do not educate our people.

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Do History's Lessons Help Us Navigate the Future?

AI is surely one of the great challenges of our immediate future. How do we guard against its downsides? How do we take advantage of its potential? Harari draws from his background as a historian to posit that self-corrective mechanisms are the key controlling the rapid evolution of AI and assuring the survival of conscious life.

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Profound

The brilliant YNH does it again. A must-read for everyone living in the age of AI.

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Spoken history

The history spoken to explain his theses on certain things was amazing I guess that should be a staple in explaining things right.

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