Yes, creators play an essential role, Harari concedes. But it is the editors that shape culture.

They are the ones who decide what gets included and excluded, what gets published and what gets left on the cutting room floor. They shape what has the chance to enter into the zeitgeist and what falls away into obscurity.

For centuries, the editing role has been in human hands—shaped by their power, and at times, influenced by their biases and preferences.

But today, as Harari points out, much of that editorial power has shifted to technology. On Instagram, X, or TikTok, it’s no longer human editors making the calls. Instead, a complex web of algorithms—trained often on opaque criteria—determines what gets amplified and what fades into the void.