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Summary of 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Short summary
How do computers and robots change the world and the importance of being human? How do we deal with the rising epidemic of fake news that circulates on social media? Are nations and religions still relevant to society? What should we teach our children in a dangerous digitalized world?
Yuval Noah Harari’s “21 Lessons for the 21st Century” is a detailed and visionary investigation into today’s most urgent issues as we move into the uncharted territory of the future. Yuval Harari addresses the many challenges of navigating life in the face of constant and influencing change and raises the important questions we need to ask ourselves to survive.
Yuval Noah Harari is an Israeli public intellectual, historian, and a professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His writings examine free will, consciousness, intelligence, happiness and suffering.
“Happiness does not really depend on objective conditions of either wealth, health or even community. Rather, it depends on the correlation between objective conditions and subjective expectations.” ~ Yuval Noah Harari
15 min
10 key points
9 insights
You’ll learn
- Why technology might overthrow liberalism
- How to keep pace with AI's cognitive growth
- The ethical consideration for AI use
- The urgency of global tech regulation
Table of content
- Summary of 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
- About the author
- What is 21 Lessons for the 21st Century about?
- Who should read 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
- Topics in 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
first key point
Disillusionment, work, liberty, and equality are responsible for the shift from liberalism to nationalism
Listen the first key point
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It is hard not to notice the paradigm shift in today’s global politics as technology and globalization continue to stretch the very fabric of liberalism.
After the collapse of the fascist Nazi–led Germany, liberalism rose from the ashes of the Second World War in the 1940s as one of the two most viable models of governance with the second, communism, unable to stand the test of time. It is safe to say that the sole surviving model is on the brink of collapse, just decades after it edged out communism.
More than ever, human rights, the free market, and democracy, which have embodied liberalism in this era, are not as potent as before. For one, the advent of disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence — AI — Big Data, Blockchain, and cryptocurrency are threats to its survival as governments are increasingly finding it hard to catch up with the explosion of information technology and biotechnology.
Secondly, the economic growth that punctuates liberalism has resulted in ecological collapse, and the global warming crisis conversation continues to deteriorate. What makes this development more shocking is that liberalism has no viable alternatives. Also, the backpedaling of economies that had once championed the free will movement has not helped matters. We see this in America’s newfound isolationism mantra and the hasty Brexit campaign of the British.
However, note that this does not mean that the Western world is denouncing the fundamentals of liberalism altogether. Instead, they want to practice it within their borders and sideline globalization.
After the collapse of the fascist Nazi–led Germany, liberalism rose from the ashes of the Second World War in the 1940s as one of the two most viable models of governance with the second, communism, unable to stand the test of time. It is safe to say that the sole surviving model is on the brink of collapse, just decades after it edged out communism.
More than ever, human rights, the free market, and democracy, which have embodied liberalism in this era, are not as potent as before. For one, the advent of disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence — AI — Big Data, Blockchain, and cryptocurrency are threats to its survival as governments are increasingly finding it hard to catch up with the explosion of information technology and biotechnology.
Secondly, the economic growth that punctuates liberalism has resulted in ecological collapse, and the global warming crisis conversation continues to deteriorate. What makes this development more shocking is that liberalism has no viable alternatives. Also, the backpedaling of economies that had once championed the free will movement has not helped matters. We see this in America’s newfound isolationism mantra and the hasty Brexit campaign of the British.
However, note that this does not mean that the Western world is denouncing the fundamentals of liberalism altogether. Instead, they want to practice it within their borders and sideline globalization.
You must understand that questions you cannot answer are usually far better for you than answers you cannot question.
Such is the blistering pace of today’s disruptive technologies that it is plausible that many would lose their jobs to machines soon. While this is a given, it is inevitable that just like the effect of automation in previous industrial revolutions, this AI era will also create new jobs. Hence, humans and machines might work hand–in–hand.
For this to happen, human beings must continuously reinvent themselves to keep up with robots’ cognitive capacity. And those who are not capable of acquiring new skills will become irrelevant whenever their jobs become automated.
For this to happen, human beings must continuously reinvent themselves to keep up with robots’ cognitive capacity. And those who are not capable of acquiring new skills will become irrelevant whenever their jobs become automated.
second key point
As we continue to delegate more jobs that rely on cognitive reasoning to machines, they will understand us more than we know ourselves
As people continue to delegate more jobs that rely on cognitive reasoning to artificial intelligence, humanity will naturally trust their judgments. As such, machines might use the information at their disposal to manipulate humans and make decisions for us.
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third key point
Communism, civilization, and nationality are political challenges of the 21st century
fourth key point
Globalization will not necessarily result in the clash of civilizations; it will only facilitate a faster growth that will alienate those who aren’t tech savvy
fifth key point
The role of religion and immigration in the coming era is important to the growth of civilization
sixth key point
Terrorism, war, humility, God, and secularism are possible triggers for a third World War
seventh key point
A bigger threat to our existence is the possibility of a full–blown third World War
eighth key point
It is difficult to decipher the truth since an individual human is not as knowledgeable as he thinks he is
ninth key point
Ensuring the resilience of humanity is the only way to survive the future
tenth key point
Conclusion
What is 21 Lessons for the 21st Century about?
Who should read 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Topics in 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
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