This claim comes from Yuval Noah Harari, one of the most influential historians and public intellectuals of our time.

In a YouTube interview, he argues that the “operating system” of our civilisation, language, is now changing, with more and more of its production being delegated to AI.

Before discussing this claim, it is important to note what Harari means by calling the operating system of our civilisation language.

He supports this idea by pointing to the systems we have developed throughout history: law, religion, trade, and many others. All of them are, in one way or another, based on words.

In other words, language.

Yet something unprecedented may now be happening: machines are becoming capable of producing language without our direct involvement. He further gives an example to illustrate the distinction between tool and agent. He rightly asserts that everything human-made thus far can be grouped into tools, whereas AI represents the latter: an agent.

Language has always been perhaps the most fascinating part of our journey. Harari argues that the development of language enabled us to move from being relatively insignificant animals to becoming the masters of the globe.

That is a remarkably powerful point.

But then another question emerges:

What happens when language begins to detach itself from human beings?

What if, as we move forward, language continues to develop, circulate, and spread, perhaps increasingly without us?

Things worth thinking about...