Homo Deus
A Brief History of Tomorrow
Book Edition Details
Summary
"Homo Deus (2015) explains how we came to be the planet’s dominant species and uncovers a prediction for the future of humanity. It examines our present humanist state, the notion of individual choice and how we persist in worshipping the individual. It also reveals how science and technology will eventually make humans subservient to computer algorithms."
Introduction
Imagine waking up tomorrow in a world where death is optional, where artificial intelligence makes most decisions for us, and where the line between human and machine has completely blurred. This might sound like science fiction, but according to cutting-edge research in biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and data science, such a future may be closer than we think. Throughout history, humanity has conquered its greatest enemies through unprecedented cooperation and technological advancement. Having largely tamed famine, plague, and war, we now stand at the threshold of an entirely new chapter in human evolution. The next frontier isn't just about surviving or even thriving; it's about transcending the very limitations that have defined what it means to be human. As we explore this remarkable journey, we'll discover how our unique ability to create shared stories and beliefs enabled us to dominate the planet, and how modern science might soon allow us to redesign ourselves entirely. We'll examine how algorithms are beginning to understand us better than we understand ourselves, and investigate the rise of a new worldview called Dataism that treats all of existence as information processing. Most importantly, we'll confront the profound challenges this transformation poses to our most cherished values and the very meaning of human existence in an age where we might become gods.
From Animal Dominance to Human Supremacy Through Cooperation
The story of human supremacy begins with a puzzle that would baffle any alien observer: we are not the strongest, fastest, or most numerous species on Earth, yet we completely dominate the planet. Consider this striking comparison: Germany, the land of fairy tales about big bad wolves, now hosts fewer than 100 wild wolves but over 5 million domesticated dogs. Globally, we find 40,000 lions compared to 600 million house cats, and a mere 200,000 wild wolves versus 400 million domestic dogs. This transformation represents what scientists call the Anthropocene epoch, where a single species has reshaped the entire global ecosystem. Our dominance didn't emerge from superior individual abilities. A Stone Age human possessed sharper senses, better survival instincts, and more practical skills than most modern humans. The key to our success lies in something far more subtle yet powerful: our unparalleled capacity for large-scale cooperation through shared fictional stories. While chimpanzees cooperate in small groups based on personal relationships, and bees cooperate in large numbers but with rigid systems, humans alone can cooperate flexibly with millions of strangers by believing in the same myths about gods, nations, corporations, and money. The Agricultural Revolution marked the crucial turning point in human-animal relations. As we transitioned from hunting and gathering to farming, we developed new relationships with animals as resources to be managed rather than equals in nature's theater. We created the first domesticated species, fundamentally altering their evolution and subjecting them to lives that served human needs. This shift was justified by new religious worldviews that placed humans at the center of creation, with animals existing primarily to serve our purposes. Today's industrial farming represents the culmination of this process. Through scientific understanding of genetics, nutrition, and disease control, we can raise billions of animals in conditions that maximize productivity while minimizing costs. This technological mastery has made us like gods to other species, controlling their breeding, environment, diet, and fate with little regard for their subjective experiences. Our success stems not from individual superiority but from our unique ability to create and believe in shared stories that coordinate the behavior of millions of people toward common goals.
The Algorithmic Revolution: When Machines Surpass Human Intelligence
At the heart of the coming transformation lies a revolutionary insight that challenges everything we thought we knew about intelligence and consciousness: organisms are algorithms. This isn't merely a metaphor but the foundational principle of 21st-century science. Just as computers process information through coded instructions, living beings process data through biochemical algorithms shaped by millions of years of evolution. Your feelings, thoughts, and decisions result from complex calculations performed by networks of neurons, hormones, and genes operating according to predictable patterns. This algorithmic view of life has profound implications because it suggests that electronic systems capable of processing data more efficiently might eventually surpass human capabilities. We're already witnessing this in specific domains: computers defeat human champions at chess and Go, algorithms diagnose diseases more accurately than doctors, and artificial intelligence composes music that moves us to tears. The crucial insight is that intelligence is decoupling from consciousness. You don't need to feel or experience anything to be incredibly smart at solving problems. Modern neuroscience reveals that what we call the "self" is actually a story told by our brain's narrator, a system that constantly weaves experiences into a coherent tale while conveniently forgetting most of what actually happened. This narrator follows predictable patterns, such as remembering only peak moments and endings while ignoring duration. External algorithms are becoming increasingly adept at reading these internal patterns, potentially knowing us better than we know ourselves. Your smartphone might detect early signs of depression from typing patterns, while your digital assistant could choose romantic partners more successfully than your own heart. As algorithms become more sophisticated, they challenge the very foundation of humanist belief in individual authority and free will. If an algorithm can predict your preferences better than you can and make superior decisions about your life, what makes human consciousness special? The uncomfortable truth emerging from laboratories worldwide is that humans aren't the indivisible individuals we imagine ourselves to be, but rather collections of competing biological algorithms with no single authentic voice guiding our decisions. This realization doesn't diminish human experience but suggests we're approaching a crossroads where we must choose between upgrading ourselves to remain relevant or accepting a future where artificial intelligence makes most decisions for us.
Dataism and the Future of Human Consciousness
Emerging from the convergence of biological and computer sciences is a revolutionary worldview called Dataism, which treats the universe as consisting entirely of data flows where the value of any entity depends on its contribution to data processing. According to this perspective, the same mathematical laws govern both biochemical and electronic algorithms, making no fundamental distinction between calculations performed by human brains and those executed by computers. This isn't just an abstract philosophy but a practical framework already transforming every aspect of human society. Dataism offers a seductive promise: by connecting everything to vast networks of data flows, we can create systems smarter and more efficient than anything humans could achieve alone. Your smartphone already demonstrates this principle, knowing more about your preferences than you do by tracking movements, monitoring communications, and predicting behavior with uncanny accuracy. Google and Facebook algorithms determine personality traits, political leanings, and disease susceptibility based solely on digital footprints, while medical systems analyze millions of patient records to identify treatment patterns no human doctor could detect. This data-driven transformation extends beyond technology into governance and social organization. Some cities use predictive algorithms to allocate police resources and social services, while financial markets rely on high-frequency trading systems making thousands of decisions per second. The promise is that surrendering decision-making to superior algorithms will optimize everything from traffic flow to human happiness. Democratic systems, which process information through slow elections and debates, may struggle to compete with authoritarian systems that can analyze public sentiment in real-time and optimize policy outcomes instantly. However, Dataism poses fundamental challenges to human authority and meaning. If algorithms know us better than we know ourselves, why trust our feelings and intuitions? If data processing becomes the supreme value, what happens to human experiences that can't be quantified or digitized? The Dataist worldview suggests humans represent just one phase in the evolution of information processing systems, a biological stage eventually superseded by more sophisticated electronic networks. In this vision, the Internet of Things becomes not merely technological infrastructure but the beginning of a new planetary consciousness, with humans serving as neurons in a vast global brain that will ultimately transcend our individual existence entirely.
Summary
The central insight emerging from this exploration is that humanity stands at an unprecedented threshold where our greatest achievements in conquering ancient enemies may paradoxically threaten our essential humanity. As we develop godlike powers over life, death, and reality itself, we face the possibility that the very technologies designed to serve us might ultimately replace us, not through conquest but through obsolescence. This transformation raises profound questions that will define the next phase of human evolution: If algorithms can make better decisions than humans, what value does human judgment retain? If consciousness and intelligence can be separated, which should we prioritize? As we gain the power to redesign ourselves, how do we preserve what makes us fundamentally human while embracing beneficial enhancements? These aren't merely academic questions but urgent practical challenges that will shape the world our children inherit. The choices we make in the coming decades about artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and data privacy will determine whether humanity's future is one of unprecedented flourishing or gradual irrelevance in a world run by our own creations. Perhaps most importantly, we must ask ourselves: what kind of gods do we want to become, and will we remember to value the messy, inefficient, but deeply meaningful aspects of human experience that can't be easily quantified or optimized?
By Yuval Noah Harari
