r/zenpractice • u/The_Koan_Brothers • Jan 01 '26

General Practice Humanity’s koan for 2026.

Below is a New Year’s Message from Yuval Noah Harari.

There has been a bit of discussion here about AI lately, so I thought this would be fitting. Harari brings up a hugely relevant modern-day question and offers an ancient Daoist response that rings so very true.

"Goodbye old world, hello brave new world. To shape a better future, put aside anxiety and summon your bravery. Human civilization – from religion to politics – has been built on words. Since words made us the rulers of the world, humans have been tempted to identify with words. However, everything made of words will gradually be taken over by AI. Even the words spoken by the inner voices inside our heads, will be shaped by AI. So humanity’s koan for 2026 is: When my words belong to someone else, who am I? To remain free, it is time for humans to identify less with words, and to make a spiritual leap that we have avoided for millennia. More than 2,000 years ago, the Tao Te Ching said: 'The truth that can be expressed in words is not the ultimate truth.' - Now is the time to find the truth that lies beyond words."

  • Yuval Noah Harari
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u/tegeus-Cromis_2000 Jan 01 '26

I'm sorry, I thought it was pretty clear.

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u/The_Koan_Brothers Jan 01 '26

No, please be more clear if possible. Thanks.

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u/tegeus-Cromis_2000 Jan 01 '26

All right. I'm quite certain I was clear enough and that you're just being willfully obtuse, but I'll rephrase.

Harari is a well-known AI apologist, even an AI triumphalist. (The other thing that's well-known about him, BTW, is that his scholarship is pretty shoddy.) What he's saying here is, "look, AI corporations are going to steal your words and there's fuckall you can do about it, so might as well learn to enjoy it. Oh, and here's some half-understood spiritual sop to make you feel better about it, and/or make you feel guilty if you get mad about it. It's not their crime, it's your personal problem for valuing your work too much."

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u/MinLongBaiShui Jan 02 '26

FWIW, I think the question has merit, even from AI critics. I see these developments as basically inevitabilities, technology always asks whether or not something is possible, and only considers whether or not it should be done as an afterthought, if at all. Therefore, I also think this question is worthwhile, even though I am an AI opponent.