Writer and historian Yuval Noah Harari proposes a “spiritual leap” for humanity, warning that with the advance of artificial intelligence, people risk increasingly identifying with words that do not belong to them.
Israeli writer Yuval Noah Harari, known for his bestseller “Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind”released a public message on Facebook on the first day of 2026, calling attention to the danger of artificial intelligence taking over more and more aspects of human life.
“Goodbye old world, hello brave new world. To build a better future, put aside anxiety and call upon your courage. Human civilization – from religion to politics – has been built on words. Ever since words made us masters of the world, humans have been tempted to identify with them. However, everything made of words will gradually be taken over by AI.” writes Harari.
The writer also makes a reference to the dystopian novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, suggesting that the technological challenges of the present are not far from the imaginary scenarios of literature.
According to the writer, with the advance of artificial intelligence, even people’s thoughts and inner voices will be shaped by algorithms.
“To remain free, people must identify less with words and make a spiritual leap that we have avoided for millennia. The Tao Te Ching said:
The Israeli historian proposes a spiritual solution: people should identify less with words and make a “spiritual leap” avoided for millennia.
He also quotes the Tao Te Ching. “The truth that can be expressed in words is not the ultimate truth. Now is the time to find the truth that lies beyond words”the historian also said.
The message was published on Facebook on the first day of 2026 and is accompanied by a video in which the writer is captured on a hike by a stream.
