Carissa Véliz's 'Prophecy' hailed by The Marginalian: prediction algorithms steal our capacity for self-surprise
CarissaVeliz · x · 2026-10-14
Philosopher Carissa Véliz's book Prophecy received a glowing essay from The Marginalian's Maria Popova, who calls it "a revelatory look at the prison we have chosen to live inside and a key out" in an era when original thinking about AI is rare.
Core argument: all prediction technologies are power structures — prophets were the true governors of empires, and algorithms are today's bird-augurs, selling the illusion of control to soothe our anxiety about uncertainty. Every algorithm predicting your next preference from your past is "stealing your self-respect" — the capacity for self-surprise — and selling it back as product. Life's mercy is that we can change and surprise ourselves.
Related event: Philosopher Carissa Véliz's 'Prophecy' Wins Praise from The Marginalian(2 posts)→
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