This article addresses the fundamental problems humanity faces in the age of artificial intelligence in the light of Yuval Noah Harari's book "Nexus" and his ideas. While examining our perception of reality, types of knowledge, and the potential dangers of artificial intelligence in depth, it also touches upon critical issues such as data colonialism and the role of capitalism.
Reality and Human Relationship: Harari's "CCP" Theory
I continued to listen to the interviews Yuval Noah Harari gave about his new book "Nexus" and the speeches in the programs he attended. Actually, he mostly talks about similar topics to what I listened to before, but there were some other points that caught my attention. I want to talk about them a little bit.
First, Harari explains the question he asked himself when starting the book, that is, what the basic problematic of the book is. He started with the question "What is wrong with us humans?" and this question led him to where the logic flow of the book went. The main problem here seems to be reality and the relationship humans establish with reality.
Artificial Intelligence: Technological Invention or Alien?
At the point we have reached today, we are faced with artificial intelligence, a technology we have never encountered before. Harari preferentially calls this "alien" (stranger/creature), not "artificial intelligence". The reason for this is to prevent artificial intelligence from being perceived as a technological invention.
Why does he do this? Because all the technologies we have found so far did not have the capacity to go somewhere without us directing them. Yes, we also found nuclear technology, which poses a huge threat to humanity, but unless we press the button, nuclear energy did not have the ability to decide on its own and harm anyone. But artificial intelligence, or "alien" in Harari's words, has the capacity to do this. Because it can learn, produce, and even be creative on its own.
Data Colonialism: New Generation Global Dominance
We need to talk about the dimensions of this danger, because this danger is not only a threat to us individually, but also to nations and all of humanity. The initial reason why the internet was called "web", that is, a spider web, was the claim to bring the world closer together and bring everything together. But at the point we have reached, on the contrary, it has imprisoned everyone in their own shell. The algorithms created have imprisoned people in a sphere equipped only with information that interests, concerns, and entertains them. In other words, let alone connecting the world, it has almost disconnected humans from everything.
Harari says that thanks to artificial intelligence, this can be carried to much further dimensions and it is possible to carry out a kind of "data colonialism". He mentions that especially if countries like America and China seize all the information and data in other countries of the world and process it with artificial intelligence, they can take these countries under control without even moving a finger, without even dropping a single bomb.
Capitalism and Technology: The Overlooked Connection
An important thing that caught my attention here is that governments and large companies are usually shown as responsible for this entire process, but not a single word is said about the logic of the system. Because basically this is a big capitalist dilemma. If the system had prevented companies from taking action to keep the interest of people involved in the platforms they created to maximize their own profits there at the maximum level, if it had prevented information from mixing with news and entertainment, these companies would not be this big today. But the distance between us and reality would not have opened as much as it is today.
Human vs. Artificial Intelligence: Reliability Debate
Besides all these, Harari has a claim that is striking and caused me to think once again about the conclusion I reached when finishing the article I wrote on November 15 after listening to previous speeches. Roughly he says: If you go to Silicon Valley today and talk to the technology people there, they will tell you: "While we have seen so much betrayal, massacre, deception, lie from humans throughout history, what reason is there for us not to give a chance to the information artificial intelligence will produce and the new order to be established under its leadership?"
Harari says that this is a huge gamble, even a gamble that should never be approached. Even if we leave aside the fact that human history is full of mistakes and disasters, if we compare our ability to predict what a technology we do not know at all will do with our ability to predict what humans can do, he says that we have thousands of years of historical accumulation regarding being able to predict what humans can do.
AI as an "Immigrant Danger"?
Another interesting perspective is this: Today, while a great fear of immigrants and foreigners is triggered all over the world, especially in the United States, and a political discourse is tried to be created as "Foreigners will come and take some of our food, jobs, opportunities", it is interesting that the right-wingers who try to create this discourse themselves overlook the fact that artificial intelligence is actually a kind of "immigrant danger" for all of humanity. Because what artificial intelligence will do is the same: It will take some of our resources (yes, because these are electrical circuits, so they have energy needs), it will take some of our jobs (yes, they have already started taking them), so it will be a partner in the bread on your table (because you will be unemployed).
Conclusion: Shaping the Future
While artificial intelligence offers great opportunities for humanity, it also harbors equally great threats. Our perception of reality, our approach to knowledge, and our social order are about to be redefined in the age of AI. Harari's Nexus book serves as a guide to understand this transformation process.
Today, reinforcing our trust in humans and institutions, ensuring the ethical and fair development of AI, may be the key to securing our future. However, for this, we must take responsibility both as individuals and as the international community and succeed in overcoming the limitations imposed by capitalism.
