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18 posts found
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Sep 17, 2024
acx
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17 min 2,631 words 166 comments 79 likes podcast (18 min)
Scott examines a new AI forecaster, discusses Polymarket's success, and reviews recent developments in prediction markets and forecasting. Longer summary
This post discusses recent developments in AI forecasting and prediction markets. It starts by examining FiveThirtyNine, a new AI forecaster claiming to be superintelligent, but finds its performance questionable. The post then briefly mentions r/MarkMyWords, a subreddit for bold predictions. It goes on to discuss Polymarket's recent success, particularly in betting on the 2024 US presidential election. The post concludes with a roundup of interesting prediction markets and forecasting-related news, including political betting controversies in the UK and updates on the Kalshi vs. CFTC legal battle. Shorter summary
Jan 30, 2024
acx
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19 min 2,887 words 228 comments 77 likes podcast (19 min)
The post examines the performance of prediction markets in elections, current political forecasts, and various other prediction markets, while also discussing the challenges and potential of forecasting. Longer summary
This post discusses several topics related to prediction markets and forecasting. It starts by examining a claim that prediction markets have an 'election problem', showing that real-money markets performed poorly in recent elections. The author then analyzes current polls and prediction markets for the 2024 US presidential election, noting discrepancies between different platforms. The post also explores a forecasting experiment on AI futures, and reviews several other prediction markets on current events. Finally, it includes short links to other forecasting-related news and reflections. Shorter summary
Dec 20, 2022
acx
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84 min 12,964 words 316 comments 166 likes podcast (77 min)
Scott Alexander presents a comprehensive FAQ on prediction markets, arguing for their accuracy, canonicity, and potential to solve the 'crisis of trust' in society. Longer summary
This post is a comprehensive FAQ about prediction markets, explaining what they are, why they are believed to be accurate and canonical, addressing common objections, and describing clever uses for them. Scott Alexander presents prediction markets as a potential solution to the 'crisis of trust' in modern society, arguing that they can provide unbiased, accurate predictions on a wide range of issues. The post also covers the current status of prediction markets and suggests ways people can help promote them. Shorter summary
Nov 21, 2022
acx
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30 min 4,529 words 260 comments 68 likes podcast (29 min)
Scott Alexander analyzes prediction markets on Twitter, FTX, effective altruism, and US midterms, discussing their accuracy and exploring the concept of 'scandal markets'. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses recent prediction markets on Manifold and other platforms, focusing on topics like Twitter's future under Elon Musk, the FTX scandal and its impact on effective altruism, and the 2022 US midterm elections. He analyzes the accuracy of different prediction markets and polling aggregators, and explores the potential benefits and risks of 'scandal markets' for public figures. The post also touches on regulatory challenges for prediction markets and some interesting market observations. Shorter summary
Oct 18, 2022
acx
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25 min 3,822 words 133 comments 59 likes podcast (23 min)
Scott Alexander discusses recent developments in prediction markets, including midterm forecasts, legal challenges, nuclear risk assessments, and new market applications. Longer summary
This post covers various topics related to prediction markets and forecasting, including midterm election predictions, the CFTC's actions against PredictIt, nuclear risk forecasts, Kalshi's application for election markets, and updates on various prediction markets and forecasts. Scott discusses the discrepancies between poll-based and prediction market-based forecasts for the US midterms, the legal challenges to the CFTC's decision to shut down PredictIt, and recent nuclear risk assessments by forecasting groups. He also covers Kalshi's efforts to gain approval for election markets and provides updates on several ongoing prediction markets. Shorter summary
Aug 16, 2022
acx
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24 min 3,693 words 162 comments 62 likes podcast (31 min)
Scott Alexander examines the shutdown of PredictIt and its implications for the prediction market industry, while also highlighting new developments and forecasts in the field. Longer summary
This post discusses the recent shutdown of PredictIt, a prominent prediction market, by the CFTC. It explores potential reasons for the shutdown, including suspicions of lobbying by competitor Kalshi. The post also covers new developments in the prediction market space, including Hedgehog Markets allowing user-created markets, a forecasting tournament by the Salem Center and CSPI, and updates on various prediction markets and their forecasts on topics like China-US conflict, AI-generated music, and remote college education. Shorter summary
Jul 12, 2022
acx
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12 min 1,791 words 278 comments 57 likes podcast (14 min)
The post examines prediction markets for Trump's 2024 chances, Musk's Twitter deal, and the impact of the Dobbs decision, while also discussing new forecasting initiatives and other current events. Longer summary
This Mantic Monday post covers several current events and their related prediction markets. It starts with Trump's chances for the 2024 GOP nomination, which remain high despite recent scandals. The post then discusses the new Swift Centre for Applied Forecasting, funded by the Future Fund. It examines prediction markets for Elon Musk's Twitter deal, showing low chances of completion. The post analyzes the impact of the Dobbs decision on Democrats' Senate chances, noting a puzzling delay in market reactions. Finally, it covers various other forecasting topics, including COVID-19 ensemble models, the race to replace Boris Johnson, and predictions about the East African Federation. Shorter summary
Jun 13, 2022
acx
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13 min 1,909 words 147 comments 50 likes podcast (17 min)
Scott Alexander reviews recent predictions and forecasts on topics including monkeypox, the Ukraine war, AI development, and US politics. Longer summary
This Mantic Monday post covers several topics in prediction markets and forecasting, including monkeypox predictions, updates on the Ukraine-Russia war, AI development forecasts, Elon Musk's potential Twitter acquisition, and various political predictions. Scott discusses Metaculus predictions for monkeypox cases, analyzes forecasts for the Ukraine conflict, examines AI capability predictions in response to a bet between Elon Musk and Gary Marcus, and reviews predictions for US elections and other current events. The post also includes updates on prediction market platforms and recent articles about forecasting. Shorter summary
Jun 08, 2022
acx
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21 min 3,171 words 1,061 comments 171 likes podcast (29 min)
Scott Alexander examines which US political party has become more extreme faster, concluding Democrats have moved further left on policy since 1994, while results vary for other aspects of extremism. Longer summary
Scott Alexander analyzes the question of which political party in the US has become more extreme faster, breaking it down into four sub-questions. He concludes that Democrats have moved further left on policy positions since 1994 than Republicans have moved right, based on survey data and first principles. On divergence from ordinary Americans, he calls it a tie. Regarding ideological purity, Republicans show more polarization in Congress, but it's unclear for average voters. Scott avoids declaring a winner on which party has become crazier in worldview and messaging. He argues the policy position change is most important, supporting the meme that Democrats have moved more extreme, while noting other interpretations could point to Republicans. Shorter summary
May 10, 2022
acx
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21 min 3,105 words 243 comments 68 likes podcast (23 min)
Scott Alexander reviews recent prediction market changes and defends the usefulness of prediction markets, focusing on Ukraine, Roe v. Wade, and other topics. Longer summary
Scott Alexander reviews recent changes in prediction markets related to the Ukraine war, the Supreme Court leak on Roe v. Wade, and other topics. He discusses the usefulness of prediction markets, arguing that their main advantage is not accuracy but trust, aggregation, and clarity. He also describes an experiment in market manipulation on Manifold Markets and its implications. The post concludes with a look at some interesting recent predictions on topics like dog cloning, anti-aging, and Chinese politics. Shorter summary
Nov 15, 2021
acx
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20 min 2,992 words 205 comments 35 likes podcast (28 min)
Scott examines new techniques in forecasting and prediction markets, including reciprocal scoring and iterated markets, while highlighting the accuracy of prediction markets compared to traditional media. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses recent developments in forecasting and prediction markets. He covers a new paper on reciprocal scoring for long-term and counterfactual predictions, the performance of prediction markets vs. traditional media in calling election results, a proposal for iterated prediction markets to handle long-term forecasts, and updates on current prediction market probabilities for various events. He also notes the accuracy of past Metaculus predictions about Starlink availability and shares some short items on futurism and expert forecasting. Shorter summary
Nov 01, 2021
acx
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23 min 3,428 words 314 comments 40 likes podcast (26 min)
Scott Alexander explores various applications and recent developments in prediction markets and forecasting, covering topics from election betting to teacher evaluation and social media moderation. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses several topics related to prediction markets and forecasting. He starts with the concept of a Keynesian beauty contest applied to long-term forecasting, then analyzes recent developments in PredictIt markets, particularly the Virginia gubernatorial election. He explores the idea of using prediction markets to evaluate teacher performance, and examines some recent Metaculus predictions on SpaceX valuation, college enrollment, and AI code assistance adoption. The post also covers Vitalik Buterin's proposal for using prediction markets in social media moderation, and concludes with various links to prediction market-related news and articles. Shorter summary
Aug 25, 2021
acx
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14 min 2,040 words 342 comments 126 likes podcast (14 min)
Scott Alexander argues that many people missed an opportunity to have a realistic chance of becoming Governor of California in the recall election, and analyzes why this happened. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses a unique political opportunity in California's recall election of Governor Gavin Newsom. He argues that almost anyone with a slight amount of fame or money could have positioned themselves to have a 5-10% chance of becoming Governor. The post explains the recall process, the current political landscape, and how the leading Democratic replacement candidate, Kevin Paffrath, a YouTube landlord influencer, gained his position. Scott suggests that many people, including himself, missed this opportunity and could have been in Paffrath's place. He explores various counterarguments and concludes with thoughts on opportunity recognition and the nature of power. Shorter summary
Jul 27, 2021
acx
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14 min 2,168 words 125 comments 45 likes podcast (21 min)
Scott reviews recent developments in prediction markets, including COVID-19 forecasts, the launch of Kalshi, and Metaculus' new hiring initiative. Longer summary
This post covers recent developments in prediction markets and forecasting. It reviews recent markets on PredictIt, Polymarket, and Metaculus, focusing on COVID-19 predictions, the launch of Kalshi (a new regulated prediction market), and Metaculus' hiring of 'Analytical Storytellers'. The author discusses the potential of prediction markets in providing clearer information about current events and future possibilities, and suggests some additional markets that could be helpful. The post also touches on demographic predictions about dependency ratios in various countries. Shorter summary
Feb 01, 2021
acx
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13 min 1,914 words 204 comments 88 likes podcast (13 min)
Scott Alexander introduces 'Metaculus Monday', a series focusing on prediction markets, and discusses several Metaculus predictions about COVID-19. Longer summary
Scott Alexander introduces 'Metaculus Monday', a new series focusing on prediction markets, particularly Metaculus. He explains the current state of prediction markets, their limitations due to regulatory issues, and why he's chosen to focus on Metaculus. The post then delves into several Metaculus predictions about COVID-19, including total US deaths by the end of 2021, vaccine availability, vaccination rates, and potential new variants. Scott offers his own thoughts on these predictions and highlights the potential of prediction markets for informing policy decisions. Shorter summary
Mar 18, 2019
ssc
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50 min 7,632 words 775 comments podcast (53 min)
Scott Alexander reviews 'Inventing The Future', critiquing its communist strategy while acknowledging its utopian vision. Longer summary
Scott Alexander reviews 'Inventing The Future', a book by Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams that outlines a plan for achieving a postcapitalist world. The book critiques 'folk politics' on the left, advocates for a Mont Pelerin Society-like approach to spreading communist ideas, and proposes a platform of full automation, universal basic income, reduced work weeks, and diminished work ethic. Scott finds the book's arguments often unconvincing and its intended audience unclear, but respects the authors' utopian vision despite disagreeing with their paradigm. Shorter summary
Apr 05, 2018
ssc
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15 min 2,179 words 638 comments
Scott shares a diverse collection of interesting links and news items, covering topics from ancient history to modern politics and technology, with brief commentary on each. Longer summary
This post is a collection of interesting links and news items on various topics. It covers a wide range of subjects including ancient Sumerian debates, conspiracy theories, academic research, political developments, AI safety, and social issues. The post presents these items in a concise format, often with brief commentary or analysis from Scott. Some notable items include studies on divorce laws and domestic violence, controversial research on firearms and naloxone, updates on AI safety research, and discussions of recent political events in Italy and South Africa. Shorter summary
Mar 09, 2017
ssc
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20 min 3,046 words 859 comments
A wide-ranging links post covering recent research, political developments, and interesting findings across various fields, with particular focus on psychology research, political polling, and academic developments. Longer summary
An extensive roundup of links covering various topics in science, politics, and culture. Scott covers recent research on discrimination and peer effects, discusses political developments like Brexit polling and DNC chair elections, highlights interesting academic papers on personality and therapy, and shares various curiosities like tracking a child's first words. The post also covers developments in AI, drug regulation, and campus activism. The tone is analytical and exploratory, often questioning conventional wisdom and examining evidence from multiple angles. Shorter summary
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