Book of the Week

Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari
Recommended by Marcus Baker

Homo Deus is a non-fiction sequel to Sapiens that takes a further step to envision mankind's future given the rapid advancement of technology and medical/biological sciences.

Some major themes include: the ability of man to change and create our environment (hence the 'Deus' in the title) and what might happen; the pursuit of health, wellness and even immortality; problems with technology and medical advancements (eg artificial intelligence and genetics engineering), obsession with ever more information and data as well as negatives of modern life driven by the internet.

This book also raises interesting questions like 'will humans know less about themselves than a robot?' or 'Why is obesity a bigger killer than starvation?' These questions prompt the reader to think in new ways about modern life, laying out the progress and potential possibilities that mankind has made since its first civilisations.

There are some big predictions in the book. Harari believes that Homo Sapiens may not be at the end of the evolutionary line for humans, and those who will come after us will become the new rulers of our planet. Harari also justifies that there will be revolutionary advances in technology. He refers back to the advent of agriculture and written language in his prior book, Sapiens, and how those developments changed our world. The author tries to both frighten and thrill the reader about how humans will lose control in the future.

Despite the slightly dark tone and somewhat gloomy outlook, I do not agree that the future looks so bad for mankind. The vast quantity of facts could be boring for some people. There are many sections in which the points are difficult to comprehend. I think even though we pursue technology and medical advancement to improve our lives, no one really wants to end up becoming machines. I would recommend the book, especially for those who enjoy learning about computers and technology and having their thinking challenged.  Overall a very enjoyable, worthwhile and insightful read.