21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Lesson 1. Introduction.

Yuval Noah Harari’s book deals with the important challenges that we collectively as a human race have to face in the coming decades, in the face of globalization, rapid technological development and conflict. 

Rapid advancement of technology, especially Artificial Intelligence and human augmentation, can bring about radical changes in the way we exist. However, the adverse consequences of such change too are concerning. Harari also contemplates upon the possibility of human labor being rendered irrelevant, with the rise of technology, and the inequality between the rich and the poor it might widen.  

Harari discusses the various factors that might threaten the wellbeing of our species, including wars, terrorism, nuclear holocaust and vitriolic nationalism. The future is fraught with uncertainty and new challenges. And that’s why we need to look inside and come up with new strategies of confronting them.  

Lesson 2. It is stories that matter more. 

Harari states that humans think in stories rather than in facts, numbers or equations. The simpler the story, the better. 

It is the stories associated with them that made communism, liberalism and fascism the three dominant political systems in the twentieth century. Harari connects the decline of people’s faith in liberalism in the twenty-first century, with the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning. People are getting afraid of becoming irrelevant. 

Both Brexit in the UK and Donald Trump’s ascension to presidency in the US, received mass support from the people, who were worried that they were being left behind by the liberal governments. Earlier, ordinary masses were afraid of their labor being exploited by the economic elite. However now, the fear is regarding them being cast out of the game altogether, by artificial intelligence and automation.

However, Harari believes that the liberal story will not be entirely discarded because the others aren't a viable alternative to it. People will eventually return to it.

Lesson 3. Automated technology can take over human jobs in the future.

Giant leaps in computer technology are gradually making human labor irrelevant. Many jobs, now performed by humans, will eventually be taken over by AI or Artificial Intelligence. 

Human emotions, desires and choices are determined by biochemical processes. The better our understanding of these processes get, more easily will computers manage to imitate human decisions and emotions. This may lead to machines taking over human jobs, like those of bankers and lawyers.

In the future, machines will be able to detect and diagnose diseases and illnesses with greater accuracy, thus rendering human doctors obsolete. The world