Prophecy
Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI
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- 10,99 €
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- 10,99 €
Publisher Description
Tech empires are the prophets of the modern day, and like the ancient oracles and medieval astrologers that preceded them, they're not in it for the common good—they're in it for power. Award-winning University of Oxford professor Carissa Véliz brilliantly argues why we must reclaim that power, and shows us how.
“A masterpiece. . . . The most important book you will read for years.” —Roger McNamee, New York Times bestselling author of Zucked
For thousands of years, oracles, seers, and astrologers advised leaders and commoners alike about the future. But predictions are often power plays in disguise, obfuscating accountability and stripping individuals of their agency. Today we face the same threat of powerful prophets but under a new facade: tech.
Not only do modern predictions made by tech companies advise on war, industry, and marriages, but artificial intelligence also now determines 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.
Drawing on history’s cautionary tales and modern-day tech companies’ malfeasance—from surveillance and biased algorithms to a startling lack of accountability—Carissa Véliz demonstrates that big tech’s prophecies are just as shallow, dangerous, and unjust as their ancient counterparts’. What she uncovers in the process is chilling. Artificial intelligence is increasing risk in business and society while creating a false sense of security. In this incisive, witty, and bracingly original book, Véliz contends that the main promise of prediction is not knowledge of the future but domination over others. Powerful people use predictions to determine our future. Prophecy is an invitation to defy those orders and live life on our own terms.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Today's algorithmically generated "predictive" decisions, from loan approvals to missile strikes, are, despite their scientific veneer, no less expressions of cultural and personal desires than the "prophecies" of earlier eras, ethicist Véliz (Privacy Is Power) argues in this captivating study. Surveying the long history of prediction, from the "oracle bones" of Shang dynasty China (1600–1046 BCE) to the writings of England's 16th-century "astrologer-physicians, Véliz shows that "prediction cannot be disentangled from power." In classical Greece, for instance, the priestesses of the Oracle of Delphi were known to bribes in return for delivering convenient political messages. Véliz shows how statistical prediction similarly undergirded a range of fraught political and economic developments in the 19th century, from the rise of race science to the emergence of the insurance industry. The proliferation in recent years of machine learning, large language models, and so-called artificial intelligence has turbocharged the role of prediction in culture, she notes. The rise of AI chatbots, in particular, has brought humans back full circle to ancient forms of prophecy like the Oracle of Delphi. By employing statistical models to guess the most appropriate response to a given prompt, chatbots enact the same ancient feedback loop of power and desire, hidden behind a quasi-mystical process. Véliz elucidates complex philosophical and technological concepts with ease, while covering a vast range of topics. Lively and erudite, this impresses.
