Elise Hu

They're both driven by self-fulfilling prophecies.

That's philosopher, AI ethicist, and TED fellow Carissa Veliz.

In her talk, she traces the hidden power of prediction from kings who banned or even killed prophets to AI algorithms quietly making decisions about your life right now.

Depends on the kind of AI and how we use it.

Her message?

The next time someone tells you a specific outcome is inevitable.

Remember, they aren't necessarily describing the future.

They might be selling it instead.

That's coming up right after a short break.

And now, our TED Talk of the day.

That was Carissa Velez at TED 2026.

And that's it for today.

TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective.

This talk was fact-checked by the TED Research Team and produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Green, Lucy Little, and Tansika Sungmarnivong.

Additional support from Emma Taubner and Daniela Balarezo.

I'm Elise Hu.

I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed.

Thanks for listening.

You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day.

I'm your host, Elise Hu.