Sapiens Author Yuval Noah Harari on AI, His Sexuality and the Middle East

Well, look, of COURSE I was intimidated. Yuval Noah Harari is one of our most revered thinkers - a philosopher for our age and a bestselling writer of books that have redefined our thinking about humanity. You will probably know him as the author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (25 million copies sold and counting). Now, he tackles AI in his latest work, Nexus. Yuval joins us to talk about the potential of AI, as well as its dangers (I was actually left feeling more positive than negative, so it’s a great antidote to all the doom-mongering out there). We also discuss his childhood, his sexuality and his one big regret about not ‘coming out’ earlier - not to others, but to himself. He gives an extremely considered response to the terrible crisis in the Middle East and talks about how his critical stance against the Israeli state has lost him friendships. Plus: why he thinks he fails at meditation despite doing it for two hours a day. And if you’re a Failing With Friends subscriber, you’ll get to hear me ask the really BIG questions: his favourite karaoke tune and whether he gives cat or dog energy. These were such enlightening, important conversations, filled with hope and explained with such clarity. Thank you, Yuval. PS. You’re totally a cat. 00:00 Introduction: The Fantasy of Perfect Knowledge 00:28 Meet Yuval Noah Harari 01:58 Who Is Yuval? Curiosity, Sensitivity & the Big Questions 07:54 Information Diet: Feeding Your Mind Wisely 15:53 Greatest Regret: Not Coming Out to Himself Sooner 19:36 Failure #1 — Politics: Losing the Fight Against Ecological Collapse, War & AI 30:00 AI, the Bible & Why Canonising Intelligence Could Change Everything 36:22 Failure #2 — History: A Profession That Keeps Losing to Propaganda 37:58 Israel, Gaza & the Stories That Erase the Other 46:25 Failure #3 — Meditation: Two Hours a Day of Constant, Productive Failure Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] 👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth: Instagram: @elizabday TikTok: @howtofailpod Podcast Instagram: @howtofailpod Website: www.elizabethday.org Have something to share of your own? I'd love to hear from you! Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com All guest booking for How To Fail comes from an official @sonymusic email address.