Reid Hoffman Shares Yuval Noah Harari's Stark Warning That Humanity Won't Adapt Fast Enough To Artificial Intelligence's Rise And Will Suffer The Consequences: 'Revolution Is Moving On With A Rapidity, We've Seen Nothing Like That In History'

On Friday, Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, shared a video on X, formerly Twitter, in which historian and philosopher Yuval Noah Harari warned that humanity is at risk of being overwhelmed by the rapid pace of artificial intelligence (AI) advancements, with severe consequences for jobs and society.

What Happened: While sharing the video, which was from the Possible podcast made public earlier this week, Hoffman said, "Yuval Noah Harari worries that humanity can't adapt to our AI future quickly enough, and will pay the price."

During the podcast conversation, Harari warned that AI technology wouldn’t be a one-time disruption, but an ongoing series of revolutionary changes, each moving at an unprecedented pace.

Unlike previous revolutions, like the Industrial Revolution, which unfolded over centuries, the AI revolution is happening at an inorganic, digital speed that humans may not be able to keep up with.

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"If we can give humanity time to adapt to the economic and social changes, I think we’ll be okay. My theory is that we don’t have that time because the revolution is moving on with a rapidity, we’ve seen nothing like that in history," he stated.

He compared the current situation to the Industrial Revolution, which caused immense social, political and economic upheaval and suggested that, while the Industrial Revolution eventually led to a better quality of life, it came at a cost, with many paying through suffering and conflict.

The renowned historian expressed fear that, if humanity only survives AI adaptation like it did with industrialization, the outcome could be disastrous, with billions of people facing very high costs.

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Why It's Important: Harari's warning is a call to action for governments, businesses, and society to start addressing the social and economic impacts of AI before it's too late.

With AI evolving at an unprecedented rate, there is growing concern that the pace of change will outstrip humanity's ability to adapt, leading to widespread unemployment and social unrest.

Last year in March, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) cautioned that up to eight million jobs in the U.K. could be at risk as AI becomes more prevalent in the workplace.

However, the think tank said that a "jobs apocalypse" can be avoided if the government implements the right measures.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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