In a conversation with The Economist editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes, historian Yuval Noah Harari called AI "the largest psychological and social experiment in human history." His central warning is not that AI will outsmart people but that humans will voluntarily hand over key decisions for efficiency, competition and convenience, with trust shifting from people to algorithms — a shift he says is already visible in finance and media. Harari argues that AI makes the mass production of intimate relationships possible for the first time, distinguishes intelligence from consciousness (simulation is not experience), and says debates over AI rights hinge on whether an entity can suffer. He rejects the idea that AI's rise is inevitable, saying humanity still holds the controls in 2026.