What lies beneath our shared beliefs about nations, economies, and religions? How do algorithms and AI shape the stories we tell ourselves about reality?
In Nexus, Yuval Noah Harari explores the concept of intersubjective reality—the powerful stories and beliefs that exist because large groups of people accept them as true. From national identities to economic systems, these shared narratives shape our world and influence how we make sense of our place in society.
Keep reading to discover how our collective beliefs create the social structures that govern our lives, and why AI might be taking control of our cultural storytelling.
Intersubjective Reality
Harari contends that there are multiple kinds of truth or reality, which helps explain why we often don’t question whether information is objectively true. He identifies three distinct types: First, there’s objective reality—the reality we can prove with the laws of physics and the facts of the world. An objective reality is true whether or not anyone is aware of it or believes it. Second, there’s subjective reality, which exists only if someone believes it. Third, there’s intersubjective reality, which emerges when a story is believed by a large network of people and exists in the communication and collaboration between them. For an intersubjective reality, it doesn’t matter whether the story is true: When enough people believe in it, it can influence the world.
(Shortform note: Throughout history, the interplay between perception and reality has been a central focus for philosophers and scientists alike. While Harari outlines three distinct types of reality—objective, subjective, and intersubjective—some thinkers propose the existence of a fourth category: potential reality. This encompasses hypothetical scenarios, unspoken thoughts, and possibilities that may never be realized or observed, but could theoretically exist. Potential reality is useful because it helps us grapple with the unseen forces that shape decisions, imagine alternative futures, and expand our understanding beyond immediate experience. For example, it helps us imagine the impact AI may have on humankind.)
According to Harari, intersubjective reality forms the foundation of many things we believe in, such as our nations, economies, religions, and ideologies. This is how we give power to the institutions that bring order to our world, such as governments, social hierarchies, or the scientific establishment: by buying into the stories they tell and accepting the vision of reality that emerges from those stories. Harari points out that what we’re looking for when we seek information about the world isn’t the truth at all, but a compelling story that helps us make sense of our place in society.
| How a Nation Is an Intersubjective Reality As Harari points out, the idea that we can be part of a nation—or that a nation can even exist—is an intersubjective reality. In Imagined Communities (1983), Benedict Anderson argues that our modern concept of nationhood is relatively recent and explains how it emerged. In medieval Europe, Latin was considered the sacred language of truth because it was the language of the Catholic Church and religious texts. This created a hierarchy where Latin-speaking elites were seen as having special access to religious and intellectual knowledge. Only when this hierarchy broke down—and people began viewing their local languages as equally valid for expressing important ideas—could languages such as French, German, and English become sources of national pride and identity. This shift helped create what Anderson calls “imagined communities”: large groups of people who feel connected to each other through a shared language and culture, even though they’ll never meet most of their fellow citizens in person. |
Whoever controls our cultural stories—and the conversation around them—gains tremendous social power. But Harari explains that, right now, for the first time in human history, it’s not humans controlling the conversation. Instead, AI increasingly determines what we read about, think about, and talk about. While humans still decide what’s on the evening news or the front page of the newspaper, that’s not true of many of our most popular sources of information. The video at the top of your TikTok feed or the post you see first when you open Facebook is decided by an AI-powered algorithm. This marks a major shift in how information moves through society.
(Shortform note: Social media algorithms play a crucial role in determining what content we see online, as Harari points out. But some commentators clarify that algorithms do more than just selecting what we see: They actively shape speech itself by amplifying certain ideas over others, rather than allowing a true free exchange of ideas. Critics worry our current laws fail to adequately address how algorithms distort the “marketplace of ideas” by determining who gets heard and what content reaches wider audiences. They say social media algorithms sever the direct connection between speakers and their intended audiences, interfering with free speech in unprecedented ways that our existing legal frameworks do not account for.)
