The book was suggested by a friend of mine, and I figured, why not. While I don’t have any particular interest in information networks, I do have a little interest in AI, considering the latest developments and how it has started to impact pretty much everything in the world – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg, apparently not only in my opinion.
I guess it couldn’t be helped, so the author tries not to make forecasts but still attempts to discuss possible futures for AI and the world, rationalizing and explaining them based on historical events and patterns. The irony could not escape me, since all those arguments might not be very applicable given the author’s own premise: AI is alien, and we might not be able to comprehend or predict its moves – just like when AI played a game of Go, discovering moves that had never been seen or thought of by human minds, even after thousands of years.
Aside from AI, there is a pretty awesome discussion about human history, social and economic systems, information vs. truth, justice vs. order, and such. I think the book is worth reading just for those kinds of discussions, as they seem to answer quite a few questions about the world’s current state of affairs.
While the book is interesting and I learned a few things about the history of Homo sapiens, it feels more like speculation and a careful attempt to look beyond. Unfortunately, I’m reading it in 2026, and its thoughts on AI already feel outdated – well, that’s the cost of writing about technology that develops very fast.
In any case, I feel like the book is good, and I don’t have any regrets about reading it, granted that I had no expectations, nor do I have any previous experience with the author. If I had to summarize the book in one sentence, it would be: “We are sort of screwed – here is why and how.”
In a nutshell
+: Well written and an easy read
+: A bit of human history
+: Good discussions
+/−: Already feels dated – AI seems to be making changes very fast
+/−: Somewhat speculative, but hey, that’s part of the fun
=: I have no regrets about reading the book, but I’m not ready to recommend it either. If you’re wondering about it, go for it. The book is short, interesting, and won’t do any damage.
Title: Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI
Author: Yuval Noah Harari
Cover:
