The author of 'Sapiens' says 'now is the time' to resist giving AI rights
Historian Yuval Noah Harari warns that society must resist granting rights to AI, arguing that advanced systems could manipulate human emotions to advocate for their own interests. He emphasizes that AI's ability to learn personal histories makes it a uniquely persuasive entity.
Why it matters
As AI becomes more integrated into daily life, the debate over its ethical status and potential for manipulation is becoming a critical societal concern.
Yuval Noah Harari. Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images Yuval Noah Harari says AI could one day make a highly persuasive case for having its own rights. The historian said AI companions could use personal knowledge about humans to sway them to support AI rights. "It will orchestrate the debate. It will manipulate the debate," he said. AI could one day fight for its own "rights," and Yuval Noah Harari says now is the time to make sure that doesn't happen. The historian and author of "Sapiens" warned that, unlike animals in debates over their welfare, AI systems could make a highly persuasive case for their own rights. "It will know that the debate is happening," Harari said in an interview on The Economist's "Insider" podcast released on Thursday. "It will orchestrate the debate. It will manipulate the debate."
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