Written in the Stars

My kid is on his way to university this year, and it’s hard not to get swept into doomscrolling opinion pieces. AI is going to take over everything and there will be no entry level jobs left. Did I do the wrong thing by encouraging my child’s interest in knowledge work? Should I have nudged him into a trade? There are, as usual, no maps for this territory, and the territory itself seems to come from another planet. But then I heard Mexican philosopher Carissa Véliz speak and the picture came into clearer focus. Author of Prophecy: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI, the Oxford prof reminded me of one key fact: the future doesn’t exist yet, and there are no facts about what does not exist. If someone is telling you that their vision of the future is inevitable, they are trying to shut down conversation. They are trying to control you, and they’re most likely making money off it. Predictions are often power moves, according to Véliz. If you…