Libsyn Directory

The Power of Prediction

Release Date: 04/22/2026

Easy Prey

Most people use technology all day without giving much thought to what is happening behind the screen. We trust routers that may not have been updated in years, depend on internet systems few of us understand, and now turn to artificial intelligence for everything from travel plans to home repairs. That convenience comes with tradeoffs. In this episode, we look at the weaknesses built into our connected world and what happens when our technical knowledge fails to keep pace with the technology surrounding us. Sherrod DeGrippo leads threat intelligence for Unit 42 at Palo Alto Networks, where...

Scam Compounds

Easy Prey

When most people think about online scams, they picture criminals sitting behind a screen and stealing from victims around the world. But in Southeast Asia, many of the people sending those messages are victims too. Some were promised legitimate jobs, flown across borders, trapped inside guarded compounds, and forced to scam others while trying to survive. In this episode, I talk with Ivan Franceschini, a lecturer in Chinese Studies at the Center for Contemporary Chinese Studies Asia Institute. After years of studying labor rights, civil society, and Chinese investment in Cambodia,...

Sports Betting

Easy Prey

Sports betting is everywhere now. It is in the commercials, on the apps, wrapped into game broadcasts, and sold as a fun way to make sports more exciting. But behind the easy sign-ups and “risk-free” offers is an industry built on odds most people do not fully understand, fine print that can cost real money, and a business model that depends on customers losing. In this episode, I talk with Danny Funt, an investigative reporter and the author of Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling. His reporting on sports betting, politics, news, and sports media has appeared...

Google Maps Scams

Easy Prey

Most people are not thinking clearly when they need a locksmith or a plumber. They are locked out, water is leaking, something broke, and they just want somebody nearby who can fix it. So they open Google, tap one of the first businesses that comes up, and assume the listing is real. Unfortunately, that is exactly the kind of situation scammers count on. In this episode, Mike Blumenthal, co-founder and analyst at Near Media, talks about fake local business listings and the ways bad actors have learned to game Google Maps. Mike has been following this problem for years, going back to the...

Job Recruiter Scams

Easy Prey

Job hunting is hard enough without having to stop and ask whether the recruiter in your inbox is even real. My guest today, Jay Jones, ran into that problem firsthand after being laid off in December 2023. With his daughter due to be born just weeks later, Jay began receiving messages from recruiters that looked promising at first, but quickly turned out to be fake. Jay, also known as The Profiler, decided not to ignore what was happening. He started investigating the patterns behind these scams and has since identified and helped remove thousands of fake profiles, fraudulent companies, and...

Bail Bonds Scams

Easy Prey

Getting a call that someone you love has been arrested is scary enough. Getting that call from someone who sounds official, knows just enough to seem credible, and says you have to send money right away is exactly the kind of moment scammers are counting on. Julie Henderson is the president of the North Carolina Bail Agents Association and has spent 24 years working in the bail bond industry. She started in the field almost by accident after applying for what she thought was a legislative assistant job, and she has stayed because she cares about helping people get through one of the most...

Confessions of a Fraudster

Easy Prey

Technology keeps changing, but many of the most effective scams still come down to something very human: trust. My guest today is Tony Sales, co-founder of We Fight Fincrime and Underworld TV. Tony has a perspective most people in fraud prevention will never have. Earlier in his life, he was involved in organized financial crime and was once described in the UK press as Britain’s greatest fraudster. After years in that world, and after serving time in prison, Tony made the decision to use what he knew to help stop the very crimes he had once been part of. Today, Tony works with...

Personal Safety

Easy Prey

Scams and safety threats don’t always announce themselves. Sometimes they start quietly, with a moment of distraction, a strange feeling you ignore, or a situation that shifts just enough to test whether you’re paying attention. My guest today is S. Gale Bleth, a personal safety educator, certified RAD self-defense instructor, speaker, and author of Aware: A Personal Safety Playbook for Leaving the Nest. Gale brings a deep background in crime prevention and safety education, including 16 years at Cal State East Bay and 16 years as a crime prevention specialist with the Hayward Police...

Data For Sale

Easy Prey

Everyday conveniences ask for tiny pieces of information all the time like a phone number at checkout, a zip code at the register, an email address for a receipt, or a loyalty account for a small discount. At the moment, it can feel harmless. But those small details can add up quickly, creating a personal profile that businesses, data brokers, scammers, and even people with bad intentions can use in ways most of us never agreed to or fully understood. My guest today is Ron Zayas, CEO of Ironwall by Incogni. Ron is an online privacy expert, speaker, and author who has helped the judiciary, law...

Exploiting Psychology

Easy Prey

Scams are often explained as a failure of judgment, but the truth is far more human. People are not fooled because they are foolish. They are manipulated at the exact moment emotion overrides logic, whether that emotion is fear, loneliness, hope, urgency, financial stress, or the desire to believe something better is finally possible. My guest today is Dr. John Demartini, one of the world’s leading authorities on human behavior, perception, resilience, and personal development. For more than five decades, he has researched, written, and taught in the fields of human awareness and potential....

More Episodes

We make predictions all the time including about the weather, about traffic, about what someone is going to say next. It feels natural, even rational. But when algorithms start making predictions about us, whether we'll repay a loan, reoffend after prison, or respond to a medical treatment, something fundamental shifts. The forecast stops being a guess and starts becoming a verdict.

My guest today is Carissa Veliz, a philosopher and associate professor at the University of Oxford, where she also researches at the Oxford Internet Institute. Her work focuses on the ethics of technology, privacy, and artificial intelligence, and she advises companies and governments around the world on these issues. She's the author of the widely acclaimed book Privacy is Power, The Ethics of Privacy and Surveillance, and her new book, Prophecy: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI, is out now.

We talk about how the role of prophet has simply changed costumes throughout history from oracles and astrologers to economists and now tech executives and why that matters more than most people realize. Carissa explains how predictions about human beings are fundamentally different from predictions about the weather, why so many AI-driven forecasts are closer to commands than hypotheses, and what it actually looks like to take back your agency in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms.

Show Notes:

[01:13] Carissa Veliz shares her background in philosophy, ethics, and advising companies and governments on technology and data.
[02:35] She explains how prediction has existed throughout human history, from survival instincts to ancient prophecy.
[03:49] The role of “prophets” evolves over time—from oracles and astrologers to economists, data scientists, and tech leaders.
[07:05] Predictions about people differ from predictions about nature because they can influence outcomes and become self-fulfilling.
[07:55] Many modern predictions, especially from tech leaders, function more like commands than neutral observations.
[10:13] Carissa outlines key questions to ask when evaluating any prediction, including who benefits if it comes true.
[10:13] She argues society has been overly naive about predictions, often mistaking power plays for objective knowledge.
[14:18] AI systems are designed to please users, which can conflict with truth-seeking and scientific rigor.
[14:54] Growing superstitions around AI include attributing agency, intention, or even spirituality to algorithms.
[15:47] People begin trying to “please the algorithm,” creating a modern version of superstition in digital systems.
[19:55] The lack of regulation in AI places the burden of understanding risks entirely on individuals.
[19:55] Carissa argues the real issue isn’t just bias, but whether predictions about people should be used at all.
[24:49] Insurance shifts from pooling risk across populations to targeting individuals, increasing inequality and personal burden.
[27:02] Self-fulfilling prophecies in medicine and decision-making can hide their own failures by erasing alternative outcomes.
[30:25] Predictive systems risk limiting human potential by filtering out those who don’t fit expected patterns.
[30:25] Society thrives when individuals can defy expectations, something prediction-heavy systems may suppress.
[35:21] Algorithms reduce exposure to randomness, while real-world interactions create unexpected opportunities and insight.
[36:11] Over-reliance on AI can replace human relationships and narrow life experiences.
[36:11] Carissa reframes uncertainty as a positive force that enables freedom, choice, and democratic possibility.
[36:11] She encourages treating predictions as possibilities to question—not instructions to follow.

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