Interview by Michiaki Matsushima in WIRED:
WIRED: In the late ’90s, when the internet began to spread, there was a discourse that this would bring about world peace. It was thought that with more information reaching more people, everyone would know the truth, mutual understanding would be born, and humanity would become wiser. WIRED, which has been a voice of change and hope in the digital age, was part of that thinking at the time. In your new book, Nexus, you write that such a view of information is too naive. Can you explain this?
YUVAL NOAH HARARI: Information is not the same as truth. Most information is not an accurate representation of reality. The main role information plays is to connect many things, to connect people. Sometimes people are connected by truth, but often it is easier to use fiction or illusion.
The same is true of the natural world. Most of the information that exists in nature is not meant to tell the truth. We are told that the basic information underlying life is DNA, but is DNA true? No. DNA connects many cells together to make a body, but it does not tell us the truth about anything. Similarly, the Bible, one of the most important texts in human history, has connected millions of people together, but not necessarily by telling them the truth.
More here.
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