I certainly do not know, but it would be unsurprising if the origins of this article were Harari asking ChatGPT to "Tell me a long, involved, analytical story about <X> that ends with a punchline inverting anthropomorphized agency". Maybe he thought "Erm.. Maybe I am about to be replaced by AI!"
There has been an increasing laymanization of philosophy by academics who should know better. Harari is teleological technobabble personified.
Seriously. I feel like we’re weeks away from “This is the ONE Vegetable that Hegel is BEGGING you to Cut Out Of Your Diet!” being published in The Atlantic or whatever