The given annotated bibliography will focus on the book titled Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow written by Yuval Noah Harari. The writing is an outstanding piece of humanity’s future possible development and challenges, which need to be overcome in order to achieve the primary objectives. The book is divided into three major themes, which focus on the topics of human domination, humanism, and loss of control (Harari, 2016). The first part addresses the underlying reasons why humans became the dominant species and what the current relationship with other species means in the context of further humanity’s progress. It is important to note that the author raises interesting comparisons between human and animal species as well as dynamics between different nations. For instance, although theoretically, all lives are valuable, in practice, human lives are more valued than animal or plant lives, and American lives are more valued than Afghan lives.
The latter example is a main focus on the second part, which addresses the” intersubjective reality” of the modern world, and how it will transition to humanism as a form of religion or institution of values and ideas. At its center, humans will become the target of worship, and morality will be derived from within rather than outside divine guidance (Harari, 2016). In other words, humanity will seek to improve the well-being, lives, and existence of all humans by searching for power, happiness, and immortality. The last part reveals how humans might fall behind in a data-driven world due to superior algorithmic beings, which are necessarily conscious themselves, yet their knowledge of humans can be far superior. In the end, the author asks three major questions about humanity’s future, which essentially address the comparative value of intelligence and consciousness.
Reference
Harari, Y. N. (2016). Homo Deus: A brief history of tomorrow. Signal Books.