Some good ideas and stimulating observations, but even more oversimplifications and faulty logic. Harari conflates political systems (democracy, totalitarianism) with economic systems (free market capitalism, socialism) ignoring the existence of say democratic socialism. His lengthy chapter on the flaws of humanism and liberalism use definitions many would disagree with (that humanism is all about glorifying “feelings” for example). Likewise his equating of “dataism” and humanism with “failed religions, and his contempt for Islam in particular give one pause.

Yet there is a lot worth pondering. Do states insitute social welfare programs merely to breed healthy armies and worker bees? Once the majority of workers are replaced by AI, will that mean these dispensable humans will be…dispensed with? Writing in 2014-16, Harari was prescient about the anxieties we now face as AI becomes
more entrenched in our lives, threatening dozens of professions and occupations. The most frightening of his predictions is not the elimination of humanity by machines but the elimination of our sense of purpose. Harari’s imagined future of nonproductive humans spending their lives playing virtual reality games is the true horror.