Renowned historian and author of “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind”, Yuval Noah Harari has warned at the 2026 World Economic Forum that artificial intelligence (AI) will plunge every country into two crises. According to Harari, we are on the cusp of an identity crisis and an immigration crisis.
The first crisis is that of human identity. Harari argues that humans have always derived their self-worth from the ability to think. Now that AI is surpassing humans in this respect, our foundations are shaking, as Business Insider reports.
He also predicts a crisis every nation is going to face due to the arrival of “AI immigrants.” While they bring useful skills to healthcare or teaching, they will disrupt the local culture and labour market. “These immigrants don’t need a visa; they travel at the speed of light,” says Harari.
He calls on world leaders to decide now whether AI should be given legal rights, before control is permanently lost.
Recently, the Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang, had referred to robots as “AI immigrants” and said they will help humans with work we no longer want to do, such as manufacturing jobs, AFP reported.
