Harari: AI is history's biggest psychological and social experiment

In October 2026, historian and philosopher Yuval Noah Harari sat down with The Economist's editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes, describing artificial intelligence as 'the biggest psychological and social experiment in human history.' He argued that AI is likely to surpass humans in many fields within a decade, but that outcome is not inevitable. The real danger, he said, is that humanity voluntarily hands over key decision-making to AI in the pursuit of efficiency and convenience.

Harari warned that financial systems, built on trust, could see AI gaining decision-making power through complex systems beyond human understanding. The biggest change ahead is not the disappearance of trust but its shift from humans to algorithms, a trend already visible in cryptocurrencies and algorithm-driven news.

He also stressed that intelligence is not consciousness. AI may pursue goals and simulate emotions convincingly, but that does not mean it can feel. On the question of AI rights, Harari said the key is whether AI is believed capable of suffering, while cautioning that granting AI legal personhood could let companies evade responsibility and create unaccountable decision-makers.

Harari called the belief that AI's direction is inevitable the most dangerous idea today. Technological development is a matter of human choice, he said, urging a safer, more cautious approach to AI development and a deeper reflection on what it means to be human.