Carissa Véliz: challenging narratives on prediction and decision-making

21 May 2026

In her new book Prophecy: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI, Hertford Associate Professor of Philosophy Carissa Véliz explores how AI’s reliance on statistics and prediction has become a mechanism for exercising power.

From credit scores to hiring algorithms, forecasts increasingly determine opportunities, often without accountability. Prophecy’s key message is that predictions are not neutral facts but powerful tools that shape behaviour and institutions, drawing on history, philosophy and technology to challenge some of today’s most entrenched assumptions.

Comparing AI to the Oracle of Delphi, Carissa says:

‘Predictions sound like facts, like descriptions of the world, but when you analyse them philosophically, you realise that they are not.’

She adds:

‘There are statements that seem to describe reality, but what they actually do is give an order. When we hear a prediction and take it as fact, what we’re really doing is obeying. The more entrenched we are in the illusion that everything is predictable and that we have everything under control, the more blind we will be to the incontrovertible fact that AI is also generating its own risks, and that these risks are systemic.’

The book has been widely promoted in the US and the UK, and you can watch Carissa’s recent TED talk here or listen to her on the Big Technology Podcast here.

Congratulations, Carissa!

———

Carissa Véliz is an Associate Professor in Philosophy at the Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford, where she researches privacy, AI ethics and public policy. She advises policymakers and companies worldwide on AI and ethics, including the UK Parliament, US Congress and the European Commission, and serves as a board member of the Proton Foundation and a member of UNESCO’s Women 4 Ethical AI.

For the past five years Carissa’s post has been partly funded thanks to a generous donation from Clifford Chance. This partnership between the law firm and Hertford College was conceived by Jonathan Kewley (English, 2000), Partner and Chair of their Global Tech Group. Jonathan is a globally renowned expert on AI innovation and safety.