The « Divinatory » Power of Algorithms
The spectacular development of algorithmic systems capable of collecting, analyzing and processing massive quantities of data have arguably conferred on humans a new device of prediction allowing to optimize decision-making processes, to anticipate risks and to exercise control over individuals. In the era of Big data, applications based on new machine learning methods are developed in various fields such as security, marketing and entertainment. These algorithmic systems, we contend, have to be understood as original modes of prediction and preemption of the future. Drawing inspiration from divinatory practices of classical Antiquity as described in Cicero’s Treatise De Divinatione, we shed light on the contemporary beliefs in the predictive power of algorithms. By deploying a two-folded approach, we ask : what is the nature of algorithms and of their correlational logic ? What are the modes of knowledge production they rely on ?