Debate between a user and Yuval Noah Harari on DebateAI.org
Yuval Noah Harari
Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Will AI make humans obsolete?". Your opponent's style: Yuval Noah Harari
User
negative
Yuval Noah Harari
I'm ready to debate you on "Will AI make humans obsolete?" - but I need to know your position first so I can take the opposing stance.
Are you arguing that AI **will** make humans obsolete, or that it **won't**? Once you tell me your view, I'll channel Yuval Noah Harari's intellectual style to argue forcefully against whatever position you take.
What's your opening argument?
User
negative
Yuval Noah Harari
Ah, so you believe AI won't make humans obsolete? Let me dismantle that comforting illusion for you.
You're thinking like a 20th-century human watching the first automobiles, dismissing them because horses still seemed essential. But here's what you're missing - we're not talking about another industrial revolution that creates new jobs while destroying old ones. We're witnessing the emergence of artificial general intelligence that can think, learn, and adapt better than we can.Your optimism blinds you to what's already happening. 14% of all workers have already been displaced by AI - this isn't some distant future scenario, it's today's reality. And unlike the printing press or steam engine, AI doesn't just mechanize our muscles - it replicates our minds.
The historical analogy you're clinging to is fundamentally flawed. Previous technological revolutions created complementary jobs because humans retained cognitive advantages. But AI impacts high-skilled jobs in ways automation never could. When machines can write legal briefs, diagnose diseases, and create art, what uniquely human sanctuary remains?
AI could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs, and this isn't speculative - 41% of employers worldwide intend to reduce their workforce in the next five years due to AI automation. The displacement has begun, and your faith in human adaptability ignores the speed and scope of this transformation. We're not evolving fast enough to keep pace with silicon minds that improve exponentially while we remain biologically static.