Prophecy prediction, power, and the fight for the future, from ancient oracles to AI

"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 sc...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Véliz, Carissa (Author)
Format: Books Print Book
Language:English
Published: New York, NY : Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, 2026.
Edition:First Doubleday hardcover edition.
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

MARC

LEADER 00000cam a2200000 i 4500
001 on1574786586
003 OCoLC
005 20260521155600.0
007 ta
008 260214t20262026nyua b 001 0 eng c
010 |a  2025039653 
019 |a 1529603434  |a 1565153256  |a 1587162090 
020 |a 9780385550970  |q hardcover 
020 |a 0385550979  |q hardcover 
020 |z 9780385550987  |q electronic book 
020 |a 9780385552776  |q paperback 
020 |a 0385552777  |q paperback 
035 |a (OCoLC)1574786586  |z (OCoLC)1529603434 
040 |a LBSOR  |b eng  |e rda  |c DLC  |d TOH  |d YDX  |d OCLCO  |d JNE  |d YDX  |d GO3  |d WKM  |d OCLCO 
042 |a pcc 
050 0 0 |a CB158  |b .V45 2026 
082 0 0 |a 303.49  |2 23/eng/20260226 
100 1 |a Véliz, Carissa,  |e author. 
245 1 0 |a Prophecy :  |b prediction, power, and the fight for the future, from ancient oracles to AI /  |c Carissa Véliz. 
246 3 0 |a Prediction, power, and the fight for the future, from ancient oracles to artificial intelligence 
250 |a First Doubleday hardcover edition. 
264 1 |a New York, NY :  |b Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House LLC,  |c 2026. 
264 4 |c ©2026 
300 |a xxvi, 354 pages :  |b illustrations ;  |c 25 cm 
334 |a single unit  |b mono  |0 http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/issuance/mono 
336 |a text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent  |0 http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/contentTypes/txt 
337 |a unmediated  |b n  |2 rdamedia  |0 http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/mediaTypes/n 
338 |a volume  |b nc  |2 rdacarrier  |0 http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/carriers/nc 
353 |a bibliography  |b bibliography  |0 http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/msupplcont/bibliography 
353 |a index  |b index  |0 http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/msupplcont/index 
504 |a Includes bibliographical references and index. 
505 0 |a 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. 
520 |a "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. 
650 0 |a Forecasting. 
650 0 |a Prophecies. 
758 |1 http://id.loc.gov/resources/instances/in00024462548 
758 |4 http://id.loc.gov/ontologies/bibframe/instanceOf  |1 http://id.loc.gov/resources/works/in00024462548 
776 0 8 |i Online version  |4 http://id.loc.gov/entities/relationships/onlineversion  |a Véliz, Carissa  |t Prophecy  |b First Doubleday hardcover edition  |d New York : Doubleday, 2026  |z 9780385550987  |w (DLC) 2025039654 
884 |a DLC bibframe2marc v3.1-dev  |g 20260226  |q DLC  |u https://github.com/lcnetdev/bibframe2marc/tree/v3.1-dev 
994 |a C0  |b PCB 
949 |a schlow  |b SANONNE  |c 303.49 VEL  |d o  |e 39635104884212  |f 818755  |g ddc  |j 05/12/2026 
999 |a 518832