Is Everything Predictable?: AI, Prediction Markets, and the Philosophy of Foresight
In this six-week course, explore works from philosophy, cultural studies, and journalism to understand how technologies that predict the future also shape the present.
The age of AI, prediction markets, and real-time data analysis brings predictive reasoning into all corners of human life. Once considered a niche academic interest area, the philosophy and politics of prediction is now relevant to everybody. “Is Everything Predictable?: AI, Prediction Markets, and the Philosophy of Foresight” presents scholarly material on forecasting technologies in a rigorous but highly accessible format.
Drawing from a range of sources, we center scholarly texts and deeply-researched journalism that uncover the links between digital calculation, philosophical notions of time and free will, and the reality of living in an age where everything seems reducible to calculation.
Guest speakers from academia and tech journalism will round out our seminar sessions, and for our final meeting, students have the option of presenting original research or creative work in an event open to the general public.
Syllabus
In the early weeks of the course, we read texts from contemporary media studies and political theory that construe prediction and speculation as forms of governance. We also address probabilistic reasoning as a key feature of artificial intelligence and prediction market mechanisms, using frameworks suitable for participants without any background in STEM. As we will see, the similarities and differences between how probability works in AI versus prediction markets have much to tell us about these tools’ effects on everything from global warfare and the environment to creativity and personal relationships.
After establishing a strong practical and theoretical foundation in AI and prediction markets, we turn to philosophical writing on the nature of freedom, self-expression, and power. These texts urge us to ask whether predictive technologies empower us with highly advanced forms of knowledge; if they inhibit us by constraining our imagination of what’s possible; or if both of these outcomes might be true at once. We also read articles and listen to podcast interviews with our guest speakers in anticipation of their visits.
Throughout our sessions, we examine case studies related to tech companies, specific applications, and major actors in the AI and prediction market space. The course’s culminating event – a salon open to the general public – reflects our interest in connecting questions and concerns that seem highly academic to current events and everyday life. Students who choose to give presentations will participate in an additional workshop or one-on-one advising session to help them prepare. By the course’s end, we will be able to navigate a world driven by predictive technologies with greater clarity, confidence, and wisdom, and to share our perspectives on them in a way that empowers those around us.
Learning Outcomes
Connect AI and prediction market functionalities to political and cultural affairs
Develop critical reading skills applicable to philosophy and journalism
Apply frameworks from the theoretical humanities to real-world developments in politics and technology
Make scholarly ideas accessible to a wide range of audiences
Scholarships
Index scholarships are designed to benefit underrepresented groups, BIPOC members of our community, and those for whom the class price is not accessible. These need-based scholarships will go to the candidates who best demonstrate why they should be chosen for the free spot to our class. You can apply for a scholarship here.
Instructor Bio
Emma Stamm is a writer and professor with a background in philosophy and the social study of science and technology (STS). She holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies from Virginia Tech and has taught courses on the philosophy and social implications of technology at Villanova University, Virginia Tech, the Acid Horizon Research Commons, New York University, where she currently teaches for the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication. As a public-facing scholar, she has written for Vice Motherboard, Real Life Mag, and Communications of the Association for Computing Machinery, in addition to co-hosting the LEPHT HAND podcast. She is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Lenox Institute for Advanced Study, which makes critical science and tech education accessible beyond academia.
Refunds
We get that things come up, but we rely on headcounts to make our programs viable. If you request a refund...
More than 4 weeks before the program begins → 100% refund
More than 2 weeks before the program begins → 50% refund
Fewer than 2 weeks before the program begins → No refund
Thanks for understanding and for supporting our ability to provide cool offerings through your purchase.
Media Release Clause
By attending this event, you consent to being photographed, filmed, or recorded, and grant Index Space permission to use this content for promotional or informational purposes.