The Limits of Predictive AI - Carissa Véliz with Nicholas Thompson

The Limits of Predictive AI - Carissa Véliz with Nicholas Thompson

Author: Atlantic Re:think May 20, 2026 Duration: 48:10
Can AI predict a person’s future? It’s a promise often made by sales teams, but the technology’s record is far from spotless. Even if it did achieve perfect foresight, a practically-clairvoyant AI might be incompatible with democracy, says Oxford philosopher Carissa Véliz. In a spirited conversation with Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, Véliz traces the history of predictions from ancient oracles to the modern algorithms shaping everything from criminal sentencing to insurance premiums. What are the ethics of outsourcing such consequential decisions to machines? The risks of getting it wrong are obvious. Véliz warns of the dangers of getting it right. (00:00) Introduction to Carissa Véliz and her work on privacy and AI  (01:29) Why "less crime" is an illusion of safety  (02:30) How surveillance machinery enables prediction and social control  (03:06) Defense of autonomy: why resisting surveillance protects freedom  (04:02) Can mass surveillance ever be beneficial? (05:36) Ring cameras and the erosion of democratic anonymity  (07:01) Prediction versus prophecy: how forecasts shape reality  (08:52) Job displacement predictions and self-fulfilling prophecies  (13:15) The Gettier problem: why probabilistic AI lacks justification  (16:06) When probabilistic AI works and when it fails  (18:52) Do individualized health predictions defeat the purpose of insurance? (25:24) Areas where probabilistic reasoning is inadequate: insurance, justice  (27:48) The problems of effective altruism and utilitarian calculation  (32:37) AI company ethics: copyright, rights, and virtue ethics  (37:47) Can more data solve "the turkey problem?"  (39:15) Practical privacy advice: Signal, Proton, VPN, and mindful choices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicholas Thompson sits down with some of the sharpest minds working at the edges of artificial intelligence in The Most Interesting Thing in A.I.. This isn't a dry technical briefing or a series of speculative futures; instead, each conversation digs into the tangible, often surprising ways this technology is already altering the fabric of our daily lives and institutions. You'll hear from leading thinkers who cut through the hype to discuss the real ethical dilemmas, economic shifts, and social transformations unfolding right now. Produced by Atlantic Re:think and PwC, the podcast provides a grounded space to explore questions about creativity, power, work, and truth in an age of intelligent machines. The discussions are built on the premise that understanding AI's impact requires looking beyond code and algorithms to consider human values and consequences. Tune in for thoughtful, accessible dialogues that reframe how we think about one of the most significant forces of our time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 29

The Most Interesting Thing in AI
Podcast Episodes
The AI Jobs Disruption - Erik Brynjolfsson with Nicholas Thompson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:27
Of all the potential risks and promises of AI, perhaps none are as immediately dire as this: How will it impact jobs? Will employers still need workers? What will it mean if the answer is “no?” Depending on who you’re ta…
AI Utopia or Catastrophe? Nick Bostrom with Nicholas Thompson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:16
Will AI destroy the world, or transform it into one of abundance? Across two books and several papers, philosopher Nick Bostrom has envisioned a range of AI futures. He joins Nicholas Thompson to discuss the ethics of ho…
Sam Altman on Where AI Models Go Next, with Nicholas Thompson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:15
OpenAI’s Sam Altman sits for an interview with Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, to discuss AI’s trustworthiness, its dangers, and its impact on young people. Altman also discusses his company’s pledge to “stop com…
Data Centers in Space - with Nicholas Thompson and Ariel Ekblaw [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:35
AI needs data centers, and those data centers need energy and cooling. Recently, one proposal has captured the popular imagination: put data centers in space, where there’s ample solar energy and naturally cool surroundi…
Season 4 Trailer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:59
Where does AI go next? And what happens to us? Join The Atlantic’s CEO Nicholas Thompson as he speaks with leaders, developers, philosophers, and more about AI’s impacts, present and future. New episodes every Wednesday,…
The Copyright Wars - with Nicholas Thompson and Bill Gross [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:14
In this episode, The Atlantic’s CEO Nicholas Thompson speaks with serial entrepreneur and Idealab founder Bill Gross about his latest venture, ProRata, a bold attempt to create a fair exchange of value between AI compani…
Building Trustworthy AI - with Nicholas Thompson and Navrina Singh [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:03
What happens when AI learns faster than its makers can control? In this episode, Nicholas talks with Navrina Singh, founder and CEO of Credo AI, about how regulation could actually accelerate innovation of more responsib…
AI in Flight - with Nicholas Thompson, Tory Bruno and Joe Schurman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:16
The space race has gone private, and in this new world, efficiency is key. United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno explains how a legacy rocket maker remade itself to compete in an industry full of startups. From load anal…