Name: Homo Deus
Rating: 4.3 (1116 reviews)
Author: Yuval Noah Harari

What’s in it for me? Learn why humans won’t rule forever.

The advent of humans and humanity’s subsequent rule over earth began with Homo sapiens’ inventive talent, consciousness and thought. Religion and humanist philosophy have done their bit to bring this reign into being, placing humans at the center of creation and thought.

Indeed, with the rapid advancement of science and technology, computers and artificial intelligence, it seems little can stop us. But might we be digging our own graves?

These blinks explain the rise of humans and the doctrine of human superiority. You’ll see what made us dominate this planet and why we think we are special. But you’ll also peer ahead and see what threatens our crown – and could commence the fall of humankind.

You’ll also learn:

how scientists can make decisions for rats;
how the US presidential election illustrates human superiority; and
why liberalism and nationalism are religions.

What heights we scale! Humanity’s ambitions change by the day.

For humankind, progress and innovation is nothing new. We have strived for the stars and reached the moon. We have developed the means to defeat famine, disease and the effects of war. But as we advance, our ambitions must be modified.

Let’s consider how far we’ve come.

We can now check the spread of famine and disease – catastrophes that killed many in the past.

In France between 1692 and 1694, for example, famine killed 15 percent of the population (that’s about 2.5 million people). The infamous Black Death pandemic killed between 75 and 200 million in Eurasia in the 1330s. That’s about a quarter of its entire population.

But nowadays we have mostly overcome famine and disease. In fact, you’re more likely to die from obesity than hunger. In 2010, 3 million died worldwide from obesity. Conversely, malnutrition and famine combined killed only a third of that total.

We’re so advanced that we measure our catastrophes on a different scale. Take the Ebola crisis. Although it’s considered a serious modern epidemic, it killed “only” 11,000 people.

It’s much the same with war. It’s an exceptional occurrence rather than a given. You're more likely to die from diabetes (1.5 million deaths in 2012) than war (120,000 in 2012).

Does this matter? Well, it means that as a species humankind can adjust its goals. We can aim to live longer or become happier and stronger.

We’re on the way. Twentieth-century medicine has almost doubled our life expectancy. Some people even think immortality is possible. We also feel like we can live more happily. That’s why, according to a 2013 survey on drug use and health, over 17 million Americans reported using ecstasy.

Technology is also used to strengthen our bodies. Now paralyzed patients control bionic limbs through thought alone.

But it's just the start. We can strive higher yet.

Humans claimed superiority over animals and proved it through collective cooperation.

Humans are without doubt the world’s most successful creatures. But will we be able to keep this up?

If we want to know where we’re headed, we must know where we came from. What made us so powerful?

Religion has given us narratives and these encapsulate moral dilemmas.

Cooperation gave us the competitive edge. But what made us put our heads together in the first place?

This cooperative desire is reflected in shared narratives. When we share stories, we also share values.

Modernity means we can shape our lives. But has meaning been lost?

The pace of change is swift. We can now improve our lives nearly effortlessly. But have we lost something in the process?

In the modern era, we have gained power by rejecting meaning.

Liberal societies derive meaning from human experience, not God.

OK, so we’ve cast out divine scriptures. So from where exactly do we derive deeper significance now?

These days, it's the human experience that confers significance on the world. This is known as humanism. It's essentially the predominant religion of modern society.

Modern science threatens liberalism at its heart.

We've learned that liberalism is founded on valuing human experience and individual freedom. But how much do we really know about ourselves, the individuals? Modern science says we know very little. What’s more, what we do know hardly supports the principles of liberalism.

For starters, free will is a mere illusion.

Algorithms and technologies will one day rule our lives.

Modern science shakes liberalism to its core and renders its philosophical foundations unstable. But we humans face a more tangible threat: technology.

Humans are replaced daily by algorithms. This is because we need things to be completed quickly, efficiently and reliably. That’s why computer algorithms are increasingly favored. Just look at financial trading. Once the realm of the financier, now it's ruled by the microchip.