‘Our Identity Will Collapse,’ Warns the Sapiens Author on AI

When Yuvah Noah Harari talks about artificial intelligence, the professor takes suggestions from history and less from technology. In Davos at the World Economic Forum 2026, his perspective served as a clear warning to world leaders. The crisis he talked about went beyond unemployment or productivity issues. They go around the stories societies have been telling and retelling themselves for centuries.

To people who have read Sapiens, Harari’s insight followed a familiar storyline and felt like a continuation. His bestselling book tells us how collective imagined realities, fiction, stories sustain nationhood, religion, stock market and make large scale human cooperation possible. At WEF 2026 in Davos where global leaders and influential people arrived to discuss ideas and concerns, YNH presented an argument that AI can influence or even destabilize those stories. If that threat were to become a reality, society would struggle with redefining values, meanings, and belonging.

First Crisis: AI Attacking Our Identity

Harari highlighted the first crisis that threatens our identities. 

“We always knew cheetahs could run faster than us. We always knew that elephants are much bigger and stronger than us. So we didn’t define ourselves by this.” Harari said. 

“We defined ourselves by thinking.”

Humans have associated meaning and purpose to their cognitive abilities. Problem-solving, reasoning, judgement, and thinking had always remained so much exclusive to humans. These abilities made humans believe they are superior or different from any other species on the planet. 

YNH says as artificial intelligence continues to outperform humans in various intellectual tasks, this belief will struggle to hold ground. When non-human entities begin to persuade, negotiate, diagnose, and write, societies would have to deal with a deep and uncomfortable question. 

That is: in a near future where intelligence no longer remains exclusive, what makes humans so special?

A taste of this discomfort can be felt in the room when Harari further adds…

And now something is going to be better than us in thinking if thinking means putting words in order.”

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Harari warned that if the countries fail to rewrite their cultural narratives, there will be widespread existential confusion along with economic anxiety. Millions may find themselves useless, not because of unemployment, but because they have no idea what their value is. 

According to YNH, whether humans would find a belonging in that world depends on the place we define our non-verbal feelings and our capability to encapsulate wisdom that is unexplainable in words.

Harari leaves an uncomfortable and serious remark for all humans…

“If we continue to define ourselves by our ability to think in words, our identity will collapse.”

Second Crisis: New Non-human Immigrants in Society

When speaking in Davos with leaders, Harari referred to Artificial Intelligence agents as a new class of non-human ‘immigrants’ stepping into societies. These non-human immigrants bring various risks to humans when they begin to make their own place in human society. 

Since these non-human immigrants will be superior in many ways than humans, all intellectual institutions can see modifications that no humans can understand, leaving them irrelevant. 

Harari said that AI came up with a new word to describe us humans — “They called us Watchers.” Harari said.

“Do you know as far as putting words in order is concerned, AI already thinks better than many of us.”

“Therefore, anything made of words will be taken over by AI.” 

Further, YNH adds…

If laws are made of words, then AI will take over the legal system. If books are just combinations of words, then AI will take over books. If religion is built from words, then AI will take over religion.”

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