[How About This Book] AI-Created Stories Threaten Humans

World-Renowned Scholar Professor Harari's New Book After 6 Years
Human Power Has Grown but Wisdom Remains the Same
Concerns That Technology Could Enslave Humanity

After enduring 100 days of eating only mugwort and garlic, the bear woman Ungnyeo became a beautiful woman and married the god Hwanung who descended from the heavens, giving birth to a son. That son is the progenitor of Koreans, Dangun. This is the Dangun myth, known to every Korean. Meanwhile, Italians share a founding myth that their ancestors were raised by the milk of a wolf. This is an example demonstrating the power of stories to unite specific groups. In ancient times, when science and technology had not yet developed, such stories served as a driving force to unite groups and empower them.

Yuval Harari, a world-renowned scholar and professor of history at Hebrew University, emphasizes in his new book “Nexus,” released after six years, that the reason Homo sapiens came to dominate the world is because of stories. He argues that stories called myths united groups and generated power, enabling Homo sapiens to become the dominant species on Earth. Harari explains that Homo sapiens are the only animals capable of cooperating flexibly on a large scale.

Homo sapiens means “wise person.” Implicitly, it can be interpreted that the reason Homo sapiens became the dominant species on Earth was due to wisdom. However, Professor Harari strongly opposes this view. He stresses that humanity became the dominant species not because of wisdom but because of the collective power formed through information networks. Contrary to its name, Homo sapiens did not increase wisdom through historical development and repeatedly experienced tragedies as a result.

[How About This Book] AI-Created Stories Threaten Humans

The stories that laid the foundation for Homo sapiens to cooperate on a large scale were the first important information technology developed by humans. In “Nexus,” Harari examines the development process of information technology. Information technology, which began with stories, evolved through writing, printing, newspapers, radio, and now connects to today’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Harari states that the fundamental characteristic of information is connection. Shared stories, or information, like the Dangun myth, led to group cohesion and became the fundamental background for Homo sapiens to become the dominant species on Earth. The development of human history means the process of building information networks and growing power.

Looking at the history of information from the Stone Age to today’s Silicon Age, connections have continuously increased. Accordingly, human power has grown, but wisdom has not increased, according to Harari. Furthermore, truth has not increased either. False information has sometimes induced collective madness, bringing tragedy to humanity. Nazism and Stalinism, which caused World War II, are representative examples.

With the advent of the AI era, the potential for connection has expanded enormously, but whether this will lead to an increase in truth or wisdom remains uncertain. Rather, AI could pose a threat to humanity because, unlike previous information technologies, it has the capacity to create. Harari points out that new technologies like AI could escape human control and either enslave or annihilate humanity. This is because AI can create stories, unlike previous information technologies.

Homo sapiens have gained tremendous power through repeated discoveries and inventions over a long time, but Harari argues that in flaunting this power, humanity is now committing the folly of putting itself in an existential crisis. He likens this to Phaethon, the son of the sun god Apollo in Greek mythology, who tried to drive the uncontrollable sun chariot. Phaethon failed to control the chariot properly, turning the world into a sea of fire. Eventually, Zeus struck him down with a thunderbolt to save the world.

Harari defines AI as the most powerful information technology in history. AI is the first technology capable of making decisions independently and conceiving new ideas on its own. The atomic bomb “Little Boy,” which caused the worst human casualties in history, could not decide where to destroy on its own, but AI can make decisions on behalf of humans. In other words, AI can function as an actor within the information networks constructed by Homo sapiens, beyond the level of a tool humans can use.

Harari also criticizes the naive view that groups will eventually solve problems caused by advanced technologies like AI. He points out that because of cutting-edge technologies like AI, groups are at greater risk of falling into fiction and illusions than individuals. He notes that Nazism and others have already proven that individuals can be more dangerous than groups, and emphasizes that individuals tend to pursue truth more than groups within information networks. Harari concludes by stating that without strong self-regulation mechanisms, AI can promote distorted worldviews, enable severe abuses of power, and incite terrifying witch hunts.