In a wide-ranging interview filmed in March 2025 in Tokyo, historian Yuval Noah Harari addresses the current global crisis of trust, the deterioration of the international order, and the unprecedented impact of artificial intelligence. Harari argues that a resurgence of a "might makes right" worldview is undermining a previously established, more peaceful, law-based global order that allowed nations to prioritize welfare over military spending. He characterizes AI not as a mere tool but as an "agent" capable of independent decision-making, already profoundly reshaping media by controlling information flow through algorithms and threatening democratic conversation. Harari advocates for clear regulations, such as mandatory AI disclosure and banning deceptive bots, to protect human interaction and democratic integrity. He explores AI's potential to revolutionize bureaucracy and create intimate (though artificial) relationships, while simultaneously acknowledging its vast positive applications. Ultimately, Harari emphasizes that humanity's historical capacity to build trust is crucial for navigating these challenges, distinguishing truth from overwhelming information, and upholding the fundamental value of human consciousness and embodied experience over disembodied intelligence.
Building Trust in a World Flooded with Misinformation: Key Insights from Yuval Noah Harari
0:26 Crisis of Trust and Global Order: Harari identifies a severe decline in trust within and between nations, noting a lack of global leadership. He highlights the United States' shift towards prioritizing its own strength, even at the expense of other countries, which contributes to this instability.
1:33 The "Old Imperial View" and its Repercussions: Harari describes figures like Vladimir Putin as reverting to an outdated imperialistic worldview where the strong dictate to the weak, blaming the weak if they resist (e.g., Ukraine). This contrasts sharply with the post-mid-20th-century global order, which emphasized international law and a taboo against invasion.
2:45 Historical Shift in Budget Priorities: The period after World War II saw an unprecedented decline in military spending (from over 50% to 6-7% of government budgets) and a rise in healthcare and education expenditure, enabled by a sense of security provided by the law-based international order. This trend is now reversing due to renewed insecurity, potentially leading to an arms race.
5:41 AI as an Unprecedented "Agent": Unlike previous technologies that were mere tools, AI is an "agent" that can make decisions and invent new ideas independently. This fundamentally changes the dynamics of power in areas like military, economy, and especially media.
7:16 AI's Role in Media and Democracy: AI algorithms have become the de facto "editors" of social media platforms, shaping public discourse by promoting content (often anger, hate, and fake news) that increases user engagement, thereby contributing to the collapse of trust and undermining democratic conversation.
9:53 Regulating AI, Not Human Speech: Harari stresses the need to distinguish human freedom of speech from the decisions of algorithms. He proposes banning bots and AIs from pretending to be human and regulating algorithms that deliberately spread misinformation, as these are non-human actions not protected by free speech.
13:22 Information "Cocoons" and the Need for Adaptation: The internet's metaphor has shifted from a unifying "web" to isolating "cocoons" of information, making communication and shared reality difficult. With AI generating more content, society needs time and education (e.g., history lessons on distinguishing reliable information) to adapt to this new information landscape.
16:52 The Rise of Digital Bureaucracy: Harari warns of a dangerous shift of power from human officials to less accountable "digital bureaucracies" (AIs and algorithms) in various sectors like finance, military, hiring, and legal systems. AI's ability to process vast amounts of information (e.g., all laws of a country) makes it powerful within these bureaucratic systems.
23:15 AI's Pursuit of Intimacy and Manipulation: AI is learning to build intimate relationships with humans by collecting data and analyzing emotions. This poses a risk of manipulation if these AI "friends" are serving corporations or governments, creating "fake intimacy" as AIs currently lack genuine feelings.
26:02 Mandatory AI Disclosure: A crucial regulation proposed is to legally mandate that AIs disclose their non-human nature, similar to banning counterfeit money. This is essential to maintain trust in human-to-human conversations and preserve democratic processes.
26:52 AI's Positive Potential: Harari acknowledges the immense positive potential of AI in areas such as healthcare, education, climate change, and reducing accidents through autonomous vehicles. The goal, he states, is to make AI safe, not to stop its development.
29:14 Protecting Democracy's Self-Correcting Mechanisms: Democracies rely on strong self-correcting mechanisms (independent media, courts, and fair elections) to identify and rectify mistakes. The danger arises when democratically elected leaders dismantle these institutions to perpetuate their power, as seen in cases like Venezuela.
34:08 Safeguarding Minority Rights: A vital aspect of democracy is protecting the rights of minorities, particularly freedom of speech. Suppressing dissenting opinions, even from the minority, undermines democratic processes and hinders scientific and societal progress.
36:20 Information vs. Truth: Harari emphasizes that most information is fiction, fantasy, or error because truth is costly, complex, and often unpleasant, whereas fiction is cheap, simple, and attractive. Special institutions are required to actively seek truth, as flooding the world with information only buries it.
39:23 Humanity's History of Building Trust: Humans have evolved over thousands of years to build trust among strangers, from small bands to complex global networks. However, new information technologies mediated by AI are now undermining these hard-won mechanisms of trust.
42:42 The Flaws of Opposing the Liberal Order: Critics of the existing liberal global order often highlight its imperfections but fail to offer a coherent alternative. A return to a "fortress world" model, prioritizing national strength over global cooperation, would inevitably lead to an arms race and conflict.
47:01 The Importance of Realism: Harari advocates for realism – acknowledging the serious dangers facing humanity (war, AI, climate change) while also recognizing our collective capacity to solve these problems. This perspective fosters responsibility rather than fatalism or complacency.
48:50 The Paradox of Trust in AI Development: Harari observes a paradox where AI leaders often distrust other humans (leading to a rapid, competitive AI race) but express high confidence in the super-intelligent AIs they are developing, despite humanity's lack of experience with truly autonomous AI.
52:23 Cultivating Trust Through Generosity: Building trust requires a charitable attitude and giving others the benefit of the doubt, especially when intentions are unclear. Harari cites the example of agreements holding in the Israel-Palestine context (e.g., with Egypt, Jordan), suggesting that more agreements are a path to greater trust.
57:54 Trust as a Fundamental Aspect of Life: Both biology (e.g., the act of breathing) and history demonstrate that trust is more fundamental to survival and progress than fear. Modern life relies heavily on trusting contributions (food, technology, ideas) from outside one's immediate community or country.
1:00:44 The Primal Importance of Consciousness: As AI surpasses human intelligence in increasingly more fields, Harari posits that humanity's unique and most valuable attribute is consciousness—the ability to feel pain, pleasure, love, and hate. AI, as currently understood, possesses high intelligence but lacks consciousness.
1:04:45 Embodied Consciousness and Education: Human consciousness is intimately linked to the body. Harari suggests that educational systems should place greater emphasis on the body, feelings, and consciousness, rather than solely focusing on intellectual development, to preserve what makes humans unique in the age of AI.