In a mind-bending conversation at Fronteiras do Pensamento, historian Yuval Noah Harari and host Luciano Huck sat down to discuss why the last six years have felt like a century.
If you feel like the world is “glitching,” Harari says you’re right. We aren’t just using new gadgets; we are living through the first “Alien Invasion” in history—and the aliens are the algorithms we built ourselves.
🧠 1. The Death of “I Think, Therefore I Am”
For centuries, humans were the only things on Earth that could “think.” AI has ended that monopoly. Harari dropped a bombshell: he believes the book he’s writing now will likely be his last.
- The Reality Check: If “thinking” is just arranging words, numbers, or code into patterns, AI has already won. “AI is what happens when the text starts talking back to you.”
- The “Human” Edge: AI can write a better love poem than any boyfriend because it has read every poem ever written—but it has never felt a single heartbeat. We have consciousness; AI has only connection.
🥋 2. Forget Coding, Learn Muay Thai
Luciano Huck shared a story about his son applying for University. Harari’s advice was radical: If you want to be relevant in 10 years, focus on your martial arts, not just your engineering degree.
- Why? AI takes over “narrow cognitive skills” first. Mathematics, coding, and legal research are easy for a machine.
- The Survival Kit: What can’t AI do? It can’t navigate a physical body in a room, read a human’s subtle emotional energy, or master the social-motor skills of a sport.
- The Takeaway: The more “intellectual” your job is, the more at risk it is. The more “human” and “physical” it is, the safer you are.
☕ 3. From “Tools” to “Agents” (The Coffee Machine Theory)
Harari explains the difference between a “machine” and “AI” using your morning coffee:
- Old Machine: You press a button; it makes espresso. It’s a tool.
- AI Agent: It watches you walk into the kitchen, sees you look tired, and says: “I’ve invented a new drink for you today because I know you better than you know yourself.”
“AIs are the first technologies in history which are agents, not tools. They don’t wait for your command; they decide for you.”
🏦 4. The Rise of the “Non-Human” Person
This is the part that sounds like Sci-Fi but is happening now. In the US, corporations are “legal persons.” Harari warns that soon, AI will be a legal person too.
- Imagine an AI that opens its own bank account.
- An AI that hires its own human employees.
- An AI that becomes the richest “person” in the country and lobbies politicians for “AI Rights.”
🛡️ The “Humanity First” Checklist: How to Stay Un-Replaceable
1. Pivot from “Information” to “Wisdom”
AI can memorize the entire Bible, the latest medical journals, and every line of code ever written. Do not try to out-memorize the machine.
- The Move: Focus on judgment. AI provides the data; you provide the “Why.” Learn to connect dots across different fields (e.g., how philosophy affects business) that an algorithm wouldn’t think to link.
2. Prioritize “Physicality & Presence”
Harari’s Muay Thai example is a wake-up call. The “Laptop Class” is at high risk; the “Physical Class” is not.
- The Move: Invest in skills that require a physical body and real-time social intuition. Whether it’s high-stakes negotiation, physical therapy, or complex craftsmanship, if it happens in “meatspace” (the real world) and not just on a screen, its value will skyrocket.
3. Master “Algorithm Hygiene”
We have shifted our trust from humans to algorithms. To stay free, you must see the “invisible middleman.”
- The Move: Audit your information. If you feel sudden rage or intense validation while scrolling, recognize that an AI Agent chose to show you that content to keep you hooked. Practice “Analog Days” to recalibrate your own brain’s ability to think without a digital prompt.
4. Double Down on “Emotional Intelligence” (EQ)
AI can mimic empathy perfectly—it can say “I’m sorry you feel that way” in 100 languages. But it doesn’t care.
- The Move: Build deep, authentic human networks. In a world of bots, vulnerability and genuine human connection are the new gold. Being the person who can build trust, resolve conflict, and lead a team is a “soft skill” that is actually a “hard shield” against automation.
5. Become an “AI Orchestrator,” Not a “Task-Doer”
If your job is “putting words/numbers in a formation,” you are in the crosshairs.
- The Move: Learn to prompt and lead AI agents. Don’t be the person who writes the report; be the person who directs three different AIs to generate the data, and then applies a uniquely human “moral and social lens” to the results.
💡 The “Final Thought”
“The industrial revolution gave us machines that replaced our muscles. The AI revolution is giving us agents that are replacing our minds. The only thing left for us to own is our soul—our consciousness, our feelings, and our presence.”
🧐 What do we do now?
Harari’s message isn’t about panic; it’s about awareness. We are currently letting “bots” impersonate humans on social media, creating a world of fake rage and lost trust. The first step to saving the future is regulating the agents before they become our masters.