What kind of a world awaits us in the future within the prespective of Harari?

Eight billion people living on Earth have eight billion agendas. While some people worry about raising children in difficult conditions, others worry about how they will get their next meal. Likewise, some people are traveling in inflatable boats on a journey of hope, while others are struggling to take another breath with their last strength in hospitals. And yet, while people are struggling, important changes are taking place around the world that are shaping societies and potentially affecting the future of our entire planet. In classic terms, the world is not standing still, no matter what we say.

If we humans only deal with our own problems and ignore these changes, it is inevitable that our children and grandchildren will have to deal with bigger problems in the future, even if we don't. And because of the changes we ignore, we will have to rebuild ourselves in a very short time to keep up with the world of the future. So we need to read the world well and take early measures to protect ourselves from these waves. 

In the next few years, or a few decades, we still have a choice. If we make the effort, we can still explore who we really are as 'human beings'. But if we want to seize this opportunity, it is best to start now. 

In his first book Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari, one of the most prominent thinkers of the 21st century, explained how man went from being an insignificant animal in nature to becoming the master of the world, how he was able to take control of the world and how he was able to make this difference to other living beings.

His second book Homo Deus was written as a sequel to his first book Sapiens. In this book, Harari, again with his striking predictions, dealt with humanity's journey in pursuit of immortality, happiness and divinity. After describing the evolution of human beings today, he explained where the future would evolve. He even claimed that humanity would become godlike in the future.

In his book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, he has moved away from the past and the future and written about the present and current issues in this work. He felt the need to write this third book in order to answer the questions of readers, journalists and commentators who read his first two books. In his book, he raises questions that are essential for coping with the unprecedented technological and economic disruptions of our century and the relentless changes that are taking place. We listen to Harari's striking assessments and try to understand them. What will happen in the end, we will all live and see together. 

The author also includes the concept of 'algorithm' in this book. He places this algorithm (artificial intelligence) at the center of our lives. He has tried to explain how artificial intelligence will change the history of humanity, what kind of positive and negative consequences it will confront us humans with, through inferences based on the theories he has produced from his own perspective.

The author's use of scientific sources to prove his theories and theories in his works makes him not an ordinary writer and you come across a personality between a scientist and a normal historian. He gives examples to explain his theories. He does not leave any of his claims empty. He utilizes historical materials or tests his theory with scientific data. As a good theorist, Harari inevitably leads his readers into conspiracy theories. However, his difference from other conspiracy theorists is that he deals with his subjects from very different windows and angles. He knows how to grab the reader by the nerve endings and make them look at things from completely different angles. In this framework, he evaluates and analyzes the 21st century. Harari emphasizes that the paradigms in the world are changing while humanity is advancing rapidly.

Let us now listen to other questions of the esteemed author Harari:

How will computers and robots change what it means to be human? What can we do in the face of the fake news epidemic?

How can we regain our freedom of choice when Big Data is constantly monitoring us? 

If we cannot understand the world, how can we distinguish right from wrong, right from wrong?

Is it possible to find a solid ethical ground in a world that transcends our horizons, revolves entirely outside human control and casts a shadow over all gods and ideologies?

Does Homo sapiens have the ability to make sense of the world he has created? Is there a clear boundary separating reality from fiction?

Can nationalism be a panacea for the woes of inequality and climate change?

What kind of skills do we need in an age where old narratives collapse and are not replaced by new ones?

Harari tackles these and other fundamental issues and questions in 21 chapters, each one more provocative and in-depth than the last, building on the ideas he has put forward in his previous books to clarify political, technological, social and existential challenges. 

Harari emphasizes three fundamental problems that concern everyone living in the world. He analyzes these three issues but at the same time criticizes some values and ideas that emerged with the French Revolution of 1789. He emphasizes that concepts such as freedom, equality, justice, civilization, religion and nationalism are myths that humanity believes in, but that people have eviscerated these myths and turned them into empty ideas. Although these myths sometimes serve good things, most of the time they have very bad consequences. Everyone feels that they belong to a nation, a society, a race or a religion. People use these myths to define themselves. Thus, as a result of extreme nationalism, they tend to be hostile to people of other nationalities. It is as if it has become instinctive for every human being to judge someone who does not have faith or to humiliate someone who does not belong to their own race. According to the author, racism, nationalism and religion, which seem so innocent at first, can lead us all to disaster if left to form in the wrong minds. For example, world wars were caused by extreme nationalism and racism. Even in America, the most developed country in the world, where the oppressed people in Palestine today are victims of Zionism, blacks have not escaped the attacks of the white race for centuries, and this separation was protected by law until 1965.

Yes, all these myths are algorithms. Algorithms like artificial intelligence. When these myths are misused, the world has not been spared from wars and the destruction of millions of innocent people. Now, if the artificial intelligence algorithm is not put to proper use by humans, the future of humanity may unpredictably fall under the control of artificial intelligence, and our future may be darkened.

I hope that none of our futures will be darkened, and I wish you all respect and love.