| Portion of title |
Prediction, power, and the fight for the future, from ancient oracles to AI |
| Variant title |
Prediction, power, and the fight for the future, from ancient oracles to artificial intelligence |
| Physical medium | illustrations. |
| Contents |
Overture : what's in a prediction? -- Prophets and power : a brief history of prediction, or why astrologers get thrown off cliffs -- Conquering uncertainty and taming risk : the mathematization of decision-making -- The ultimate prediction machine : artificial intelligence is the new oracle of Delphi -- Likeness to truth : why educated guesses are not facts -- When predictions become verdicts : on the tyranny of surveillance and self-fulfilling prophecies -- The crystal ball is cracked : why the unforeseeable is never going away, and how forecasts can increase risk -- Truth, virtue and beauty : why ideals outdo predictions -- Defying the odds : on using creativity, humor, and resilience to flip the script -- How to thrive amid uncertainty : curiosity, fearlessness, and philosophy as antidotes to prophecy -- Epilogue : ten lessons in prediction -- Postscript : AI ethics 101 : digital tech's original sins. |
| Abstract |
"From an award-winning University of Oxford professor comes a brilliant, urgent new look at prophecies--the predictions that determine our lives, from our personal finances and the quality of our healthcare to the news and social media we consume and the produces foisted upon us. Today's computer scientists play the same role as the oracles of the ancient world and the astrologers of the Middle Ages. Modern predictions not only advise on war, crop output, and marriages, but algorithms and statisticians also now determine whether we can get a loan, a job, an apartment, or an organ transplant. And when we cede ground to these predictions, we lose control of our own lives. In this powerful, refreshing new look at the many ways prediction shapes our everyday lives, University of Oxford professor Carissa Véliz explains how putting too much stock in others' predictions makes us vulnerable to charlatans, con artists, dubious technology, and self-deception. Examining a wide range of subjects both personal and societal, including medicine, climate, technology, society, and others, Véliz uncovers a number of insights: predictions about humans tend to be self-fulfilling; more data doesn't guarantee better outcomes; AI is more likely to increase risk than decrease it; and a free and robust society requires not more prediction, but better preparation. Véliz argues in this incisive and bracingly original book that the main promise of prediction is not knowledge of the future, but rather power over others. Prophecy is an invitation to defy those orders and live life on our own terms"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Abstract |
In this examination of prediction and its influence on modern society, Carissa Véliz explores how forecasts generated by algorithms, data analysis, and artificial intelligence shape decisions in areas such as finance, healthcare, employment, and public policy. Comparing modern predictive systems to historical forms of prophecy, she argues that reliance on prediction can concentrate power, create new risks, and limit individual autonomy. The book assesses the social, ethical, and political implications of predictive technologies and advocates greater emphasis on preparedness rather than prediction as a means of addressing uncertainty. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Issued in other form | Online version http://id.loc.gov/entities/relationships/onlineversion Véliz, Carissa Prophecy First Doubleday hardcover edition New York : Doubleday, 2026 9780385550987 |
| Genre/form | Informational works. |
| Genre/form | Informational works. |
| Genre/form | Documents d'information. |
| LCCN | 2025039653 |
| ISBN | 9780385550970 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 0385550979 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | (electronic book) |
| ISBN | 9780385552776 (paperback) |
| ISBN | 0385552777 (paperback) |
