PROPHECY: From Ancient Predictions to Artificial Intelligence with Carissa Véliz | 446
This Is Woman's Work with Nicole KalilShow Notes
We've traded ancient oracles and crystal balls for algorithms, but our desire to predict the future hasn't changed. Today, AI predictions influence everything from hiring and healthcare to loans and personal decisions. But predictions aren't facts, and prophecy isn't destiny. So who's really in control?
Carissa Véliz, Oxford AI ethics expert and author of Privacy Is Power and Prophecy: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI, joins Nicole Kalil to explore the intersection of prophecy, artificial intelligence, privacy, and power — and why we should think twice before letting algorithms decide our future.
We explore:
Why AI is a prediction machine, not a truth machine
How AI predictions influence hiring, healthcare, loans, and major life decisions
What ancient prophecies can teach us about modern algorithms
How algorithmic bias and self-fulfilling prophecies threaten fairness and freedom
Why ChatGPT can sound convincing while being completely wrong
The hidden privacy risks of using AI tools
How to protect critical thinking, personal agency, and decision-making in an AI-driven world
AI can make life easier, but that doesn't mean it should make our decisions. Understanding how these systems work helps us question their predictions, protect our privacy, and reclaim our power.
Prediction is not destiny. Data is not the whole story. And an algorithm doesn't get to decide what's possible for us.
The future isn't something we wait to have predicted. It's something we create.
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Connect with Carissa:
Book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/759692/prophecy-by-carissa-veliz/
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carissa-v%C3%A9liz-a5781555/
Related Podcast Episodes:
Unmasking AI with Dr. Joy Buolamwini | 259
AI, Hiring, and the Future of Work (Without Selling Your Soul) with Katie Fortunato | 395
THE INSTABILITY OF TRUTH: Brainwashing, Mind Control, and Hyper-Persuasion with Rebecca Lemov | 333
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