By Shivaji Dasgupta,
Breathlessly human yet ruthlessly logical, ‘Nexus’ caringly unravels the persistent nexus of the ages. For those who snack on history, it is nonstop entertainment, and for the others entrenched to the present, guaranteed to stir the imagination. Either way, it helps us view artificial intelligence from a dramatic and unique lens, masterfully retrospective while thoughtfully futuristic.
At the centre of the universe is the potency of information, from an alarmingly naive or wisely realistic view. The former suggests that the truth leads to wisdom and power, discounting the immense capacity for damage that is caused by the malleability of information networks. Which, over time, has led to colossal catastrophes, both political and societal. Nazi Germany and Stalinist USSR (Rom-anian Ceausescu, a serial accomplice) are cross-referenced lavishly—the author’s Israeli roots evoking the sordid saga of the Holocaust and pogroms. Both are clinical representations of information manipulation, force-fed deviously to impressionable minds.
In the opening overs, the author suggests that prima facie political and ideological conflicts are actually manifestations of conflicting information networks. The difference between truth and reality is amply constructed, with the fascinating case of the NILI underground in Ottoman Turkey (1917) and the sacrifices of spy Sarah Aaronsohn leading to the British victory. Information has the power to create new realities by connecting different points into a network, for good or bad.
The role of mythology and bureaucracy are unboxed in much detail, the former as fascination and the latter as suspicion. He talks of the Bible as a classic illustration, driven by the relentless curation of stories. The need for balancing the two forces leading to divisions, quite like the Protestant and Catholic Church, as well as comparable divides across the universe. While it may not have done an inadequate job in representing human origins accurately, it still managed to be the foundation for Christianity and the Jewish religion. Information is, therefore, a prolific connector, unconnected to the antecedents of authenticity.
Interestingly, the Ramayana also occupies pole position in this argument—sibling relationships, the romantic triangle and the tensions between purity and impurity. Connected effortlessly, as an alibi thread, to the Rwanda genocide and one-time perceptions about LGBTQ.
The book moves on with contemporary history, described charmingly as an agent of change and not a static study of the past. The political systems of the USA and USSR are amplified in necessary detail, to forge a connection to the perils and promises of AI. Dictatorial systems are rigorously centralised, without self-correcting mechanisms, like the Roman Empire, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Democracies, classically, are distributed information networks, with self-correction as a core. A lurking danger lies in the new-fangled credo of populism, often exploited for wholly detrimental reasons.
Much care is invested to differentiate the organic and inorganic information networks. Previous unilateral regimes relied on linear carbon-based brains to generate, process and act on information. Silicon AI chips are built with a heady aura of timelessness and timeliness, working nonstop to pursue the desired or dictated agendas. Thus creating ecosystems that are rigorously relentless, whether benevolent or despotic.
Imminent Singularity, without being directly espoused, is at the heart of many subsequent ponderings. Fundamental decision making and engagements, whether finance linked or gender related, can be performed by machines with intricate accuracy. In gestures more than words, Harari is suggesting that a mammoth takeover is underway, the doomsday fiends from the sci-fi era may now thrive on windfall legitimacy.
In the crescendo of his voluminous argument, Harari brings forth his ballistic concerns. AI is an unprecedented superpower, across the eras of information networks, for its power to create outcomes (generative) and not just the ability to distribute and disseminate. 1.0, in the continuum of potential evil, encore mode, is the capacity to divide people, a totalitarian force with no peers. 2.0, irreversibly ominous, is the acumen to alienate the entirety of the human race, overwhelmed by an artificial power that commands every deed of dynamic civilisation. AlphaGo’s victory or Facebook’s involvement in the anti-Rohingya campaign (both in the 2010s) are merely indicative of the efficient deficiencies of advanced information networks.
History is aptly used as a prolific alibi for present actions and the author recounts many conversations with current thought leaders. A significant opinion poll, albeit simplistic, is how information is invariably positive energy, while thoughtful naysayers worry deeply about the continuance of humanness. Harrari insists that AI is, indeed, unprecedented as a societal force, as per sincere assessment of flashback cues. This is opposed to the technocrat and operational perspectives, which focus on energy guzzling GPUs or the high costs of training and inference.
Rather endearingly, the author seems to empower readers, stakeholders of the rapidly emerging uncertainty. To build from the past in order to act for the future, as information networks get exceptionally transformed by AI. A sustainable equilibrium is in order, and this time, we are in it together.
The author is an autonomous brand consultant and writer.
