You just live thinking that you have a more or less settled worldview by this age… And suddenly you read this book. You stop reading multiple times as questions and dilemmas posed in it are so uncomfortable you are not sure you want to let them plague your previously untroubled head.
You have no arguments against. And this is the scariest thing about this book. You might not agree with the tempo and probabilities of the future developments, but you cannot go against the arguments on human nature. Our psychology and drives are being analyzed like a computer algorithm. Religion? Love? Ethics? Crystal logic and survival instinct.
All the stories we were feeding ourselves for centuries is nothing more than a conveniently created narrative to justify a comfortable lifestyle and superior position we have secured on this planet.
And the fact we managed to dominate it with a pure belief that we are entitled to, leaves us short from realizing sky is not nearly the limit for human, or as we will soon call it, – superhuman abilities.
The questions is not when and if, but who will manage to secure a supernatural power and survive the consequences of Technological Singularity?
Homo Deus explores the projects, dreams, and nightmares that will shape the 21st century – from overcoming death to creating artificial life. It asks the fundamental questions: Where do we go from here? And how will we protect this fragile world from our own destructive powers? This is the next stage of evolution. This is Homo Deus.
Citations below give a glimpse of the dilemmas you will be faced if you decide to read the book.
Sugar is now more dangerous than gunpowder.
Terrorism is a strategy of weakness adopted by those who lack access to real power.
Having achieved unprecedented levels of prosperity, health and harmony, our next targets are likely to be immortality, happiness and divinity.
Fro modern people death is a technical problem that we can and should solve.
Equality is out – immortality is in.
I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it by not dying.” – Woody Allen
If you think religious fanatics with burning eyes and flowing beards are ruthless, just wait and see what elderly retail moguls and aging Hollywood starlets will do when they think the elixir of life is within reach.
We never react to events in the outside world, but only to sensations in our own bodies.
Sexual reproduction is a lottery.
If and when computers achieve superhuman powers, should we begin valuing these programmes more than we value humans? If it should never be allowed for AI to exploit and kill inferior humans, why is it ethical for humans to exploit and kill pigs?
Does might make right?
Credit is economic manifestation of trust.
People who believe in the high-tech Ark should not be put in charge of the global ecology, for the same reason that people who believe in a heavenly afterlife should not be given nuclear weapons.
In the XXI century those who ride the train of progress will acquire divine abilities of creation and destruction, while those left behind will face extinction.
