Capstone Annotated Bibliography

Note: My sources are all books which I have not had the opportunity to read in their entirety. Instead, I have used the following AI tools to understand their themes and discussions.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

In Sapiens, Harari explores the major turning points of humanity's history, from the Cognitive Revolution, then to the Agricultural Revolution, and then finally to the Scientific Revolution and the rise of Capitalism. My topic is the existential implications of AI, so Harari's explanations of cognitive and technological history provides valuable context for discussion. Yuval Noah Harari is an author, historian, and renowned public intellectual specialising in the interaction between humans and technology. He observes how the development of shared beliefs and systems like money, religion, and nationhood have united humanity at progressively larger scales. I think AI may represent another turning point, for mass labour automation and the resulting necessity of robust socialised public goods.

21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari

In 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Harari tackles the existential challenges that humanity today must face — from rapid technological advancement, to political and environmental crises, to issues of meaning, faith, and identity. My topic is the existential implications of AI, so Harari's insights on current existential issues provides valuable context and a framework for discussion and space for speculation. Yuval Noah Harari is an author, historian, and renowned public intellectual specialising in the interaction between humans and technology. He concludes with a call for people to acknowledge and confront these challenges with both skepticism and grace. I don't see how our slow systems can possibly keep up with the rapid advancement of technology, so I don't think accountability can come from governments anymore, we need to develop a grassroots culture.

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari

In Nexus, Harari examines how information systems have shaped societies across history on organisational, cultural, and political levels. My topic is the existential implications of AI, so Harari's explanations of the interactions between information and institutional structures provides valuable context for discussion and space for speculation. Yuval Noah Harari is an author, historian, and renowned public intellectual specialising in the interaction between humans and technology. He observes how AI has the potential to reshape our current society by introducing entirely new kinds of information systems. I know that I am already engaging with information differently than from before AI — in some ways it's making information more accessible (making academic language digestible for instance), but we need to keep in mind what is lost in translation.

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari

In Homo Deus, Harari illustrates how humanity's greatest challenges have shifted from dealing with nature to dealing with ourselves, and how they may once again shift from dealing with ourselves to dealing with our technology — particularly with its impacts on our ideas of identity and freedom. My topic is the existential implications of AI, so Harari's explanations of the interactions between technological development and quality of life (both physical and psychological/emotional/social) provides valuable context for discussion and space for speculation. Yuval Noah Harari is an author, historian, and renowned public intellectual specialising in the interaction between humans and technology. He speculates about a shift towards Dataism, where sharing information becomes more important than human experiences and where AI makes decisions for us. I think there are many ways in which this is already happening, with AI productivity assistants and social media algorithms shaping what we do, when we do it, and what we consume and think.