The Power of Prophecy

We have relied on prophets and seers for most of human history, largely because humans are obsessed with the future – specifically their own. But prophecy has often been used to determine or at least influence the future, not just predict it. In her new book, Prophecy, Carissa Véliz explains the power and perils of prediction, from the Oracle of Delphi to modern AI, giving us some much-needed perspective on the dangers of chatbots and the people who are selling them to us as powerful tools that will either save or doom all of humanity. Interview Notes Prophecy: https://www.carissaveliz.com/prophecy  Privacy is Power: https://www.carissaveliz.com/books  The Power of Analogue (TEDx): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvJeUQ9Egnk  How Privacy Can Save Your Life (TEDx): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSPRouBvgFE  Here’s to the Crazy Ones (Steve Jobs): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtftHaK9tYY  Further Info My book: https://fdsd.me/book  My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter  Support the mission: https://fdsd.me/support  Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons  Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch  Table of Contents 0:00:18: Intro 0:03:07: How is prediction used to determine the future? 0:08:09: Why are humans hard to predict? 0:12:34: What does AI predict about itself? 0:19:24: What are longtermism and effective altruism? 0:25:45: How does rationalism compare to empiricism with AI? 0:30:41: Why do humans believe numbers? 0:34:57: Are prediction markets ethical? 0:38:53: What do you tell policymakers? 0:41:51: How do we resist fear of the future? 0:47:11: Wrap up 0:49:45: Patron podcast preview 0:50:23: Looking ahead