Nexus: Una breve historia de las redes de información desde la Edad de Piedra hasta la IA
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- Create Date：2024-08-05 16:20:27
- Update Date：2025-09-14
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- Author：Yuval Noah Harari
- ISBN：B0CTMQPYQ1
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Kirb
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3。5 starsThank you to NetGalley and and Yuval Noah Harari for a copy of this book。I came into this reading experience somewhat biased， because Sapiens， one of the author's earlier books， was one of the first nonfiction books I actually read for fun。 The accessible content， that's structured to educate without overloading the average reader， was something I appreciated at the time， and that still holds true with this latest book。 Harari is very talented at laying out his arguments within a broade 3。5 starsThank you to NetGalley and and Yuval Noah Harari for a copy of this book。I came into this reading experience somewhat biased， because Sapiens， one of the author's earlier books， was one of the first nonfiction books I actually read for fun。 The accessible content， that's structured to educate without overloading the average reader， was something I appreciated at the time， and that still holds true with this latest book。 Harari is very talented at laying out his arguments within a broader narrative， which keeps the book moving at a pretty consistent and engaging pace。 He also brings in a lot of historical contexts and ideas， which make the information more interpersonal and less just a long list of arguments。 However， the same issues that were present in Sapiens （even if I didn't pick up on them at the time） are present in Nexus。 As much as I often found myself agreeing with the author's arguments， I had a hard time giving them too much weight because they so often lacked references。 As much as Harari does still provide a massive bibliography， along with many in-text citations， they still somehow felt lacking at times。 For example， he argued on multiple occasions about the belief systems of entire groups of people， without providing any examples or sources that this was what said group believed。 I understand having to make generalizations， especially in a book of this scope， but some of them almost felt like fictionalized arguments used to prop up his own cases。 Once again， I often actually agreed with his cases， but the fact that they were presented as fact， without adequate evidence， made me inclined to push back more against the author。 In terms of content， I feel that the subtitle is somewhat misleading。 Out of 9 chapters， almost 6 focus exclusively on subjects related to AI， and so framing it as a broad history of information networks seems ambitious。 The discussion of AI was informative and interesting， as he did not take a particular side beyond arguing about the need for more education on the subject。 Often talk of AI will either fully defend it， or fully denounce it， and so I appreciated this nuanced discussion of both its potential and its faults。 It also included a fair amount of history within the AI chapters， so there was still content on previous information networks， but I still wish more time had been dedicated to it。Overall， I'd recommend this to anyone interested on the subject， even those （like me） who have a limited understanding of it。 However， I would recommend coming into it with a fairly critical eye。 As Harari argued， it is not truth that is power， but information， and as we continue this conversation on AI it is important to be able to separate the two。 。。。more
Sasha
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Essential reading for an understanding of where AI may take humanity， based on historical precedent。The first half reviews the history of human information networks and their impact on society - and is completely fascinating。The second half considers how this history may influence the impact of AI on human society - and is utterly terrifying。It really hits home when Harari posits that AI should stand for alien intelligence…
Jessica Romero
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Interesting read！
David Tade
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I consider myself extremely fortunate to have discovered Yuval Noah Harari's books albeit quite by accident。 When an acquaintance of mine texted a mutual friend and myself expressing concern about her college age son who was interested in reading his book Sapiens and not understanding why she was "concerned"， I checked it out。 So， after doing a bit of research， I knew Sapiens was a must read。All。that to say， is that I have read （and loved） all。of his books and Nexus is no exception。If you have r I consider myself extremely fortunate to have discovered Yuval Noah Harari's books albeit quite by accident。 When an acquaintance of mine texted a mutual friend and myself expressing concern about her college age son who was interested in reading his book Sapiens and not understanding why she was "concerned"， I checked it out。 So， after doing a bit of research， I knew Sapiens was a must read。All。that to say， is that I have read （and loved） all。of his books and Nexus is no exception。If you have read any or all of Harari's books Nexus will not disappoint。。。in fact it may very well be his best。I admire how he tackles issues from a much different perspective than most。。。a true breath of fresh air from the talking heads on the news channels。His spin on information，。bureacracy， stories， Nationalism and Ai and how each affects and could possibly affect our future is at once an eye opener and， dare I say， a bit worrisome （to say the least）This is an important book and a must read。 I highly recomend Nexus and all of his books 。。。more
Lori
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This is the first work of Yuval Noah Harari's that I've encountered so perhaps I wasn't well-prepared for what "Nexus" would be - but have extremely mixed takeaways and thoughts after reading this。"Nexus" is Harari's forway into the large and ever-changing world of information - from its very beginnings that we can trace to the current looming presence of AI。 The book is split into a number of sections that follow a loosely chronological， semi-topical structure that is filled with a handful of h This is the first work of Yuval Noah Harari's that I've encountered so perhaps I wasn't well-prepared for what "Nexus" would be - but have extremely mixed takeaways and thoughts after reading this。"Nexus" is Harari's forway into the large and ever-changing world of information - from its very beginnings that we can trace to the current looming presence of AI。 The book is split into a number of sections that follow a loosely chronological， semi-topical structure that is filled with a handful of historical examples and citations， some anecdotal snippets， as well as Harari's own musings and contemplations。 For a work that is labeled as "nonfiction" however， the latter two take up far too much of the pages and so many times， it feels like the author is talking himself in circles。 There are so many passages that are far too verbose and needlessly lengthy， and this book does not need to be 500+ pages in length。While there are definitely sections and pieces of this work that I did find fascinating and thought-provoking， the work as a whole was far too distracting and strayed off-topic too often。 His foray into the realm of politics and democracy vs。 totalitarianism seemed unnecessary， and the clear pessimism that he approaches the area of AI with also seemed too biased for a work of nonfiction。Unfortunately not a book I would recommend to most readers given the confusing structure and writing style， and that there are a number of prejudices the author seems to have from the very beginning of this work。 。。。more
Andrew
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Based on analysis of information networks through human history， Harari becomes our guide "upriver" into a Conradian heart of darkness ending in the potential of an AI Kurtz and the destruction of everything we know， indeed possibly humanity itself。 To avoid this horror， Harari provides an intriguingly simple solution， yet one that has constantly eluded human beings。 Nexus is essential， groundbreaking work of enormous importance。 Let us hope our lawmakers read this book。 Based on analysis of information networks through human history， Harari becomes our guide "upriver" into a Conradian heart of darkness ending in the potential of an AI Kurtz and the destruction of everything we know， indeed possibly humanity itself。 To avoid this horror， Harari provides an intriguingly simple solution， yet one that has constantly eluded human beings。 Nexus is essential， groundbreaking work of enormous importance。 Let us hope our lawmakers read this book。 。。。more
Brandon Forsyth
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An urgent and necessary book that functions as the logical follow-up to the author’s bestselling SAPIENS。 If humans have dominated the planet by telling stories， how do those stories reach us， and what do we do when those storytelling networks slip out of human control？ In a world where algorithms increasingly control what we see and how we talk to one another， I can’t imagine a more important book。 Thought-provoking on almost every page。
Keith
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In Nexus， renowned historian and author Yuval Noah Harari continues the exploration he began in several previous volumes （Sapiens， Homo Deus， 21 Lessons for the 21st Century） of how humankind was able to harness information to its advantage—and remarkable development as a species—and what the continuing evolution of those information networks might hold for our future。 In this volume， the author takes a more focused look at how societies from the Stone Age to what he calls the modern Silicon Age In Nexus， renowned historian and author Yuval Noah Harari continues the exploration he began in several previous volumes （Sapiens， Homo Deus， 21 Lessons for the 21st Century） of how humankind was able to harness information to its advantage—and remarkable development as a species—and what the continuing evolution of those information networks might hold for our future。 In this volume， the author takes a more focused look at how societies from the Stone Age to what he calls the modern Silicon Age have seen their development influenced and determined by the way in which information is created， gathered， utilized， and controlled。 While a considerable portion of Nexus is devoted to exploring how information networks developed historically—including an interesting comparison of the way information is used in democratic and totalitarian societies—the real essence of the narrative involves a discussion of how artificial intelligence （AI）-based networks represent a fundamental shift from the past in how information is generated and the purposes for which it is used。 Importantly， Harari argues， this shift holds both the promise of vast improvements in our collective well-being as well as the peril of our potential self-destruction。Although I suspect this book will have its critics （e。g。， the author’s analysis is too shallow and too lurid; much of the substance is highly repetitive of his earlier work）， the fact is that there is a lot to savor here。 Harari argues persuasively that advanced societies could not exist without the ability to harness and share information through the stories they tell， the religious beliefs they adopt， and the bureaucratic mechanisms they form。 However， while that information is crucial for cooperation， it can also be misused for control。 Because of that， it is important to recognize that information itself is neither the same as truth， nor is it infallible。 So， for that reason， any well-functioning information system must include effective self-correction tools that can unwind adverse outcomes resulting from data being used to reach a goal that is inconsistent with what was originally imagined and intended。 The rise of AI-driven information systems presents a major challenge because their complexity may be beyond human understanding， they are able to learn and create new information on their own， and they typically lack sufficient self-correcting mechanisms。 The author is not optimistic about our willingness and ability to manage where this new technology may take us in the future。While Nexus has clearly been crafted for the inquisitive lay reader， it is very much the work of an academic scholar， which has both its good and bad aspects。 On the positive side， the discussion in the book is extremely thought-provoking as well as being well-grounded in how the historical development and futuristic speculations tie together。 The main frame of the centrality of information networks to our everyday lives and how those systems have evolved to where they may end up beyond our control is essential material to ponder。 Conversely， the book is often bloated with what seemed like superfluous side-stories that did not fit the main purpose （e。g。， descriptions of centuries-old religious disputes and military strategies） and it is， if anything， over-researched; fully one-quarter of the volume simply contained the reference footnotes for the main text。 Overall， given that the role and the use of AI are among the central questions that we are likely to be debating for years to come， it is easy to recommend this book as one that puts so many of the relevant issues on the table， even if it does not really offer any concrete solutions。 。。。more
DesanaRose
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Yuval Noah Harari's "Nexus" is an engaging and thought-provoking read that dives into the history of information networks and their impact on human civilization。 The book covers a wide range of topics， from the early days of human communication to the complex information systems of today。 Harari also delves into the development and potential dangers of artificial intelligence， offering a cautionary perspective that balances the optimism often portrayed by AI enthusiasts。One of the strengths of " Yuval Noah Harari's "Nexus" is an engaging and thought-provoking read that dives into the history of information networks and their impact on human civilization。 The book covers a wide range of topics， from the early days of human communication to the complex information systems of today。 Harari also delves into the development and potential dangers of artificial intelligence， offering a cautionary perspective that balances the optimism often portrayed by AI enthusiasts。One of the strengths of "Nexus" is its well-researched content and Harari's ability to present complex ideas in an accessible way。 The book does not shy away from the darker aspects of AI， making it a compelling read for those interested in the ethical implications of technological advancement。 However， some readers may find the book's tone a bit pessimistic and its length somewhat daunting。As a parent of a teen who frequently discusses AI's role in schoolwork and the need for teachers to verify homework， and as someone who has witnessed coworkers' increasing but now often restricted use of AI， I was drawn to this book。 Additionally， the ongoing disputes about AI's impact on artists' work sparked my curiosity。 These real-world concerns highlight the pros and cons of AI and raise the question: "Where does the line exist？"Overall， "Nexus" is a fascinating exploration of how information has shaped human history and the challenges we face in the age of AI。 It's a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the profound impact of information technology on our world。 。。。more
Casey Wheeler
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This book is well researched and written like the other books by the author that I have read。The subtitle is a bit misleading as the author covers more than a brief history of information networks。 The most interesting part to me was how the development of Artificial Intelligence can easily go astray without the proper instructions on what to achieve。 Harari spends time demonstrating how it can wrong and leaving the discussion of the positives to AI enthusiasts。 Overall， interesting and thought This book is well researched and written like the other books by the author that I have read。The subtitle is a bit misleading as the author covers more than a brief history of information networks。 The most interesting part to me was how the development of Artificial Intelligence can easily go astray without the proper instructions on what to achieve。 Harari spends time demonstrating how it can wrong and leaving the discussion of the positives to AI enthusiasts。 Overall， interesting and thought provoking。I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley， Goodreads， Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog。 。。。more
Andrew
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Knowing from Harari that humans connect through stories， one day we were going to ask how those stories spread。 So here we are， at the shift in the nexus - maybe， better， the locus - of communication from human networks to computer networks unmediated by people。 Per now classic Harari， he asks and answers that question with a sweeping history then pushed forward into the future。
Jeff
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I received an advanced reader’s edition through Goodreads with the expectation that I would post an honest review of the book。 I was generally impressed with its breadth， depth， and accessibility。 The author brings the expertise of an old school polymath to the work。 He’s able to fruitfully integrate philosophy， history， religion， anthropology， science and technology into a coherent narrative of the role of information in human history。 There are times when the author unnecessarily ambles around I received an advanced reader’s edition through Goodreads with the expectation that I would post an honest review of the book。 I was generally impressed with its breadth， depth， and accessibility。 The author brings the expertise of an old school polymath to the work。 He’s able to fruitfully integrate philosophy， history， religion， anthropology， science and technology into a coherent narrative of the role of information in human history。 There are times when the author unnecessarily ambles around a point rather than just making it - like at the beginning when he spends pages defining what information isn’t but then eventually buries his definition of what it is。 He also makes a very sudden turn into AI and stays there for much of the book。 The book would have also benefited from more roadmapping to help the reader better understand the journey and where they were on it。 But ultimately the author’s points about how information serves to connect more than to represent， the consequences thot come from inabilities to correct mistakes in those connections， and the dangers we face from those dynamics in the age of AI， are deeply insightful。 A compelling read for any student of history， current affairs， and/or the human condition。 。。。more
Alyson
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Yuval Harari is always a pleasure to read and reread。 Beautifully written， thoughtful， and inspirational
Susie Silvers
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This is a very informative book。 I encourage you to read this book。
Anya Rose
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Yuval Noah Harari's latest book is an eye-opening exploration of the history of human communication。 Harari skillfully chronicles how our communication methods have evolved， influenced by societal changes and technological advancements。 He highlights the potential and perils of artificial intelligence， offering a thought-provoking and cautionary examination。 Harari urges readers to consider the implications of a future where AI could possibly overpower human control。 Yuval Noah Harari's latest book is an eye-opening exploration of the history of human communication。 Harari skillfully chronicles how our communication methods have evolved， influenced by societal changes and technological advancements。 He highlights the potential and perils of artificial intelligence， offering a thought-provoking and cautionary examination。 Harari urges readers to consider the implications of a future where AI could possibly overpower human control。 。。。more
Jonathan
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OverviewNexus is Yuval Noah Harari's first major book in six years。 The book's subtitle—A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI—is both overly ambitious and highly misleading。 For a book ostensibly about information networks， there is no discussion of information theory—nor even a mention of Claude Shannon。 Those hoping for a proper history of information should look elsewhere to a book such as James Gleick's The Information。What we get instead is essentially an updated OverviewNexus is Yuval Noah Harari's first major book in six years。 The book's subtitle—A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI—is both overly ambitious and highly misleading。 For a book ostensibly about information networks， there is no discussion of information theory—nor even a mention of Claude Shannon。 Those hoping for a proper history of information should look elsewhere to a book such as James Gleick's The Information。What we get instead is essentially an updated synthesis of Harari's first two books， Sapiens and Homo Deus。 Sapiens developed the thesis that humans became the dominant species on earth not due to superior intelligence but due to our ability to create shared stories that enable us to collaborate on a far greater scale than any other species。 The book's concluding chapter raised the question of just how AI would impact the future development of humanity， a discussion that was expanded in the sequel Homo Deus。 What Nexus does is examine how subsequent generations of information technology， from orality and writing to the telegraph and the internet， have shaped the contours of human societies—making， breaking， and reforming the ways in which we interact with each other。 This culminates in yet another discussion of the present and future of AI。Since so much of this information is recycled from his prior books and is discussed pretty much everywhere these days， I'll restrict my analysis to the few points that I consider most notable。 As it will become clear， these insights all have something in common， revealing the shortcomings of Harari's approach。Information As a Form of CurrencyEach day billions of us conduct numerous transactions with the tech giants， but one could never guess that from our bank accounts， because hardly any money is moving。 We get information from the tech giants， and we pay them with information。 As more transactions follow this information-for-information model， the information economy grows at the expense of the money economy， until the very concept of money becomes questionable。 Classical economics has a problem。 By focusing almost exclusively on money and financial assets as a measure of value， it systematically discounts the importance of non-monetary exchange。 More recent economic analyses of slavery and unpaid domestic work have helped to fill in some of the gaps， but of particular importance to our digital age are the economic effects of the exchange of digital information。 As Harari notes， more and more transactions involve an exchange of information rather than money， and neither our economic nor our legal systems are prepared to account for or limit the excesses of informational wealth or digital bribes。 Left unchecked， big tech companies can exercise data colonialism， defining the terms of digital existence across borders。 For this reason， some scholars have even argued that countries should recognize big tech companies diplomatically so that they may better negotiate terms for their citizens。The Problem of DefinitionsHarari points to the philosophical arguments between deontologists and utilitarians in order to demonstrate how difficult it is to give AI a set of instructions that would ensure it behaved as humans expect。 Deontologists argue that ethical actions follow universal moral laws， while utilitarians argue that good is defined by maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain for as many people as possible。 He notes how when deontologists face difficulties in defining their moral laws， they tend to break down and appeal to utilitarian arguments， while utilitarians tend to fall back on deontological arguments when they struggle to define relative happiness and suffering in quantitative terms。 Harari simply ends the analysis here， suggesting that if philosophers over the ages haven't been able to reconcile these two viewpoints， then it's arrogant and unwise for the designers of AI to believe that they can solve this problem。However， I believe that there is a common thread which explains why both models break down in the ways that they do， turning back on each other like an ouroboros。 In both cases the culprit is the inability of abstract concepts to fully reflect the real world without some loss of context。 Universal application of any deontological maxim will lead to disaster in some contexts， while an absolute reliance on some utilitarian calculus is ill-advised because bias is introduced both in deciding what to measure and how to calculate its value。 In short， both models are tools that are more or less useful depending on the context。 So what we've really discovered here is that some decisions which have a major impact on people's lives should never be decided purely based upon heuristics。 This poses a potential challenge and limit to the authority of legal and bureaucratic systems， but most importantly for our discussion it suggests we examine the contexts in which we allow AI algorithms to make decisions for living beings without oversight。 Rather than send diplomats to the likes of Amazon and Google， should we not question why we allow them to wield such power in the first place and define sane limits on autonomously made decisions？To his credit， towards the end of the book Harari comes to terms with this， suggesting several principles of AI governance which all involve human institutions to oversee and regulate AI。 However， he primarily discusses this on the level of algorithmic design and use in public institutions， not at the level of defining human rights and appropriate contexts for use in the first place。 Furthermore， Harari almost never stops to question the political and economic contexts in which some usages of AI are favored over others。 This leads to my final criticism of the book。Context Is EverythingThe truth is that while we can easily observe that the democratic information network is breaking down， we aren’t sure why。 This is a startling statement which reveals that in the midst of Harari's laser-focus on how information is propagated and manipulated， he has entirely set aside any consideration of the political and economic contexts in which the networks he studies exist。 While we of course cannot provide a full explanation of all the factors that have contributed to our present moment， to treat it as something beyond understanding is bizarre。Of course， a part of the answer is the way that social media fuels rage， but the more pertinent question is why does it do so in the first place？ Clearly because it's wildly profitable to do so。 In a time when the safeguards of democratic systems are being systematically eroded by an increasingly financialized economy， young people are worse off than their parents in most countries， rent is unaffordable in many cities， and global financial crises and a worsening climate crisis are ongoing with little response from traditional political leadership， it's little wonder that trust in institutions is at an all-time low and populist movements are taking advantage of the legitimate pain and anger felt by so many。 Harari of all people should understand that the absence of a coherent narrative is a dangerous thing since it leaves people in a state of confusion and pain that makes them easy targets for manipulation。 I suspect he might argue that my previous points are "just a story" and that stories， while important， cannot be fully trusted， and that it is safer and more rational to stick with what has worked best historically—the devil we know。 He is correct that caution is required， but incorrect in his refusal to recognize that the roots of many of our problems lie in the way the system functions。 He clearly espouses a form of capitalist realism that is more scientism than science—otherwise， wouldn't the scientific approach be to at least run limited tests of alternative political structures and see which performed the best？ Harari may have the luxury to maintain this form of reserved conservatism， but those harmed by our society's worst excesses certainly have no such luxury。ConclusionHarari has his blind spots， but he examines the nature of AI and its effects deeply enough to give the reader room to form their own interpretations and conclusions， regardless of the weaknesses of his own arguments。 Overall， the book is well worth reading。 For those interested in exploring the political elephant in the room， I highly recommend Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis。 。。。more
Patrick Pilz
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A book following typical Yuval Noah Harari tradition。 Current events around Artificial intelligence provoke a look at the information technology from the stone age and simple information recording and storage to modern information processing and distribution。 Another thought provoking Grand History book by an author famous for his thought provoking ideas。The book will also create its fair share of controversies， but that is what a good book it all about。 Let's have these discussions now before w A book following typical Yuval Noah Harari tradition。 Current events around Artificial intelligence provoke a look at the information technology from the stone age and simple information recording and storage to modern information processing and distribution。 Another thought provoking Grand History book by an author famous for his thought provoking ideas。The book will also create its fair share of controversies， but that is what a good book it all about。 Let's have these discussions now before we make choices we regret。 。。。more
David Teschler
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A must read for people interested in AI，
Tony
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