About the book
“The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology. And it is terrifically dangerous.” —E.O Wilson
Our choices and experience of the world are increasingly shaped by powerful companies and godlike technology. Somebody else is deciding what ‘good’ choices look like—and often that means good for them, not for you. From the social media apps hijacking your attention and algorithms quietly curating your reality, to the markets profiting from confusion and AI systems slowly eroding your thinking: your choices are shaped by people who understand your psychological vulnerabilities better than you do and use that knowledge for their own ends. Against this backdrop, it is easy to feel diminished and 'done to'.
This book is about fighting back—individually and collectively—and becoming the best of ourselves. Drawing on over 1,000 experiments run across more than 70 countries, Halpern and Costa pair rigorous scientific findings with compelling stories. They show how we can put humans back in the driver’s seat, empowering us to regain agency so we can shape—rather than be manipulated by—the forces around us.
Super-Human unfolds across three parts:
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Human. What can each of us do to sharpen our own decision-making and strengthen our agency?
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Supra-human. Social networks, markets and institutions enable us to achieve things we could never do alone, but also strongly influence our behavior. How can we channel and shape the systems around us to enhance rather than reduce human agency?
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Super-human. Against the backdrop of rapidly evolving Artificial Intelligence, how can we shape these technologies so that they amplify human capability and experience rather than replacing or eroding it?
This book is a journey through the forces that shape our behavior and the choices that are made for us, rather than by us. Its purpose is simple: to pull back the curtain on these forces, and to outline ways in which you can enhance your agency and reclaim your power to choose - as a person, a consumer, and a citizen.
Super-Human ultimately asks us to make the biggest choice of all: in an age when machines can ‘think’, 'act' and even ‘feel’ on our behalf—what kind of humans do we want to be? Our minds have been shaped by the technologies and institutions of our ancestors; in ways they could not have anticipated. Together, we can make choices today that will alter our minds and what it means to be human - for us and those that follow. What shall we choose? Can we become both super and more human?