Yuval Noah Harari
DEDICATION: Episode EF41 is dedicated to Yuval Noah Harari, a historian and author of two of the most influential and important books of the last decade. In Sapiens: a Brief History of Humankind, he mines history, and leverages concepts of evolutionary psychology, in order to postulate what created the human condition of today. Then in Homo Deus, he used the same foundation to extrapolate our technology-driven evolution forward, speculating on what will become of the humans of tomorrow, building deep roots for the likelihood of transhumanism and coining terms like dataism.
One of Harari’s most prominent arguments is that by the middle of the 21st century, a new class of humans will emerge that he calls “The Useless Class.” He feels the world is on a crash course with growing unhappiness and dis-ease caused by a post-work world and nothing with which to replace it. Harari also projects a growing schism between regular people and the superhumans who are vastly superior due to technological advancements.
At the start of the third decade in the 21st century, we’re already witnessing these predictions starting to become true as AI begins it’s slow but sure decimation of jobs. Although most likely won’t soon accept the reality of what’s coming, it’s a chilling thought. The only thought more worrying is if it’s already too late to stop the “so-called” progress?
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