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Last Updated:January 20, 2026, 21:52 IST
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Harari said AI is already better than many humans at organising and analysing language.
Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari. (AFP file photo)
Israeli historian and philosopher Yuval Noah Harari on Tuesday warned that artificial intelligence could challenge book-based religions, saying AI is likely to take over “anything made of words."
Speaking at the World Economic Forum 2026 Annual Meeting in Davos, Harari said AI is already better than many humans at organising and analysing language. As a result, he argued, systems built mainly on words could increasingly fall under the influence of AI.
“As far as putting words in order is concerned, AI already thinks better than many of us. If laws are made of words, then AI will take over the legal system," Harari said.
NOW – Yuval Harari says AI will take over “anything made of words," including book based religions, “Judaism calls itself the religion of the book, and it grants ultimate authority not to humans, but to words… What happens when the greatest expert on the holy book is an AI?" pic.twitter.com/6DbLcp95RR— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) January 20, 2026
“Therefore, anything made of words will be taken over by AI." He added that this could include laws, books and religion.
Harari explained that if laws are made of words, AI could come to dominate legal systems. If books are simply combinations of words, AI could also take over books. The same logic, he said, applies to religion, especially faiths based on sacred texts.
“This is particularly true of religions based on books, like Islam, Christianity, or Judaism," Harari said. Focusing on Judaism, he noted that it calls itself as the “religion of the book" and places ultimate authority not in human experience, but in written words.
“Humans have authority in Judaism not because of their experiences, but because they learn words in books," he said. Harari pointed out that no human can read and remember all the words in all Jewish religious texts, but AI can already do this with ease.
He then raised a broader question about the future of faith in the age of artificial intelligence. “What happens to a religion of the book when the greatest expert on the holy book is an AI?" Harari asked.
First Published:
January 20, 2026, 21:52 IST
News world 'Anything Made Of Words': Yuval Harari Warns AI Could Challenge 'Book-Based' Religions
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