Dr Carissa Véliz on Prophecy

What if prediction isn’t about knowing the future, but controlling it? On this episode, I'm joined by a leading thinker on digital ethics, privacy and technology to explore the idea of prophecy.

Episode Summary
My guest is Dr Carissa Véliz and in our discussion, we talk about humanity’s long-standing obsession with predicting what comes next, and why today’s algorithms may be the most powerful (and dangerous) prophets we’ve ever created.

From ancient oracles and court astrologers to modern AI systems and tech executives, we explore how prediction has always been less about knowledge and more about power. What becomes clear is that while the tools have changed, the underlying dynamics haven’t. We still crave certainty, we still look for authority, and we’re still willing to trust those who claim to see the future. The difference now is scale: predictive technologies don’t just forecast behaviour; they shape it. And the more accurate they appear, the less likely we are to question them.

We then explore responsibility. If prediction influences reality, then our willingness to accept it matters. This episode is a reminder that the future isn’t something that simply happens to us, but something we’re actively participating in, whether we realise it or not.

Guest Bio
Dr Carissa Véliz is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Institute for Ethics in AI and a Fellow at Hertford College at the University of Oxford. She is a leading thinker on digital ethics, privacy, and technology. She is the author of several books including her latest release 'Prophecy: Prediction, Power and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI' and 'Privacy Is Power: Why and How You Should Take Back Control of Your Data '

Her work explores how data, AI, and predictive systems reshape society—often in ways that are invisible but deeply consequential. Drawing on philosophy, history, and real-world systems, she examines how power operates through technology and what individuals and institutions can do to resist it.

AI-Generated TImestamped Summary

• [00:00:00] Opening: prediction as something that shapes—not reveals—the future
• [00:01:00] Why prophecy is a lens for understanding modern AI
• [00:04:00] Kings, prophets, and the risks of getting predictions wrong
• [00:06:00] Survival strategies of ancient astrologers
• [00:08:00] Why humans crave certainty—and who exploits it
• [00:10:00] The danger of mistaking wealth for wisdom
• [00:12:00] Prediction as a tool of power throughout history
• [00:14:00] Surveillance as the foundation of modern prediction
• [00:16:00] How predictions shape behaviour (self-fulfilling dynamics)
• [00:17:00] Publishing as a case study in manufactured success
• [00:21:00] The strange economics of pre-orders and attention
• [00:23:00] Insurance: from solidarity to individualised risk
• [00:26:00] The hidden systemic risks of personalised prediction
• [00:30:00] Why citizens need to reclaim agency
• [00:31:00] Laziness vs values: why we default to algorithms
• [00:33:00] Tech creating problems it then claims to solve
• [00:34:00] The role of humour as truth-telling
• [00:35:00] Why algorithms would have killed Seinfeld
• [00:40:00] Practical alternatives: preparation over prediction
• [00:42:00] The importance of serendipity
• [00:43:00] Rediscovering the analogue world
• [00:46:00] Algorithms shaping culture and environments
• [00:48:00] Optimism vs doom in thinking about technology
• [00:50:00] Writing as exploration, not prediction

Links
Carissa's website - https://www.carissaveliz.com/

Her new book, Prophecy - https://www.carissaveliz.com/prophecy

Her previous book Privacy Is Power - https://www.carissaveliz.com/books

Carissa's faculty page - https://www.oxford-aiethics.ox.ac.uk/dr-carissa-veliz

Carissa on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/carissa-v%C3%A9liz-a5781555/