Algorithmic Divination: From Prediction to Preemption of the Future

Predictive algorithms to¬day share more than just semantics with the divina¬tory practices of the past. This article will map the parallels, contending that the similarities between the two practices are true “propositions” that radi¬cally question the way we apprehend the world, the way we draw our knowl¬edge from it, and the way we then act within and upon it. Mindful of the limitations of such a com¬parative method, it will nevertheless attempt it by deploying a twofold ap¬proach. On the one hand, the article questions the epistemological nature of predictive analytics and examine their truth claims with regard to how they represent the future. On the other hand, it fo¬cuses on the ontological dimension of predictive analytics and investigates how they shape the world by bringing about the presence of the future in the here and now.