WEBVTT 00:00:04.238 --> 00:00:10.409 ¶ ¶ 00:00:13.781 --> 00:00:16.415 NARRATOR: THERE'S A QUESTION WE ALL ASK. 00:00:16.500 --> 00:00:19.785 WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TOMORROW? 00:00:20.621 --> 00:00:21.704 NEXT WEEK? 00:00:21.789 --> 00:00:23.372 NEXT YEAR? 00:00:23.457 --> 00:00:27.760 WILL THE FUTURE BRING US HAPPINESS OR SORROW? 00:00:28.679 --> 00:00:31.296 IN THE PAST, WE LOOKED TO PSYCHICS, SEERS, 00:00:31.382 --> 00:00:33.882 AND ASTROLOGERS FOR ANSWERS. 00:00:33.968 --> 00:00:36.468 TODAY'S FORTUNETELLERS ARE STATISTICIANS 00:00:36.554 --> 00:00:39.304 AND SOFTWARE ENGINEERS. 00:00:42.693 --> 00:00:45.844 BY FINDING THE HIDDEN PATTERNS IN ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF DATA, 00:00:45.946 --> 00:00:49.148 THEY CAN PREDICT THE FUTURE WITH FAR GREATER ACCURACY 00:00:49.233 --> 00:00:51.784 THAN EVER BEFORE. 00:00:52.870 --> 00:00:55.654 THIS REVOLUTION IS POWERED BY A NEW FORM 00:00:55.740 --> 00:00:58.657 OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. 00:00:59.827 --> 00:01:03.695 BUT BY SOLVING ONE PROBLEM, HAVE WE CREATED ANOTHER? 00:01:03.798 --> 00:01:06.498 IF WE PEER INTO THE CRYSTAL BALL, WILL WE SEE 00:01:06.584 --> 00:01:09.384 A WORLD WHERE MACHINES SHAPE THE FUTURE, 00:01:09.503 --> 00:01:11.503 LEAVING THEIR CREATORS FAR BEHIND? 00:01:45.923 --> 00:01:49.508 NARRATOR: IN THE 16TH CENTURY, THE FRENCH SEER NOSTRADAMUS 00:01:49.593 --> 00:01:51.927 PUBLISHED "LES PROPHETIES," 00:01:52.046 --> 00:01:56.515 A BOOK OF VAGUELY-WORDED PREDICTIONS OF THINGS TO COME. 00:01:57.351 --> 00:02:00.352 HE CLAIMED HIS PROPHECIES WERE BASED ON ASTROLOGICAL CHARTS 00:02:00.437 --> 00:02:03.939 AND VISIONS FROM BEYOND. 00:02:06.060 --> 00:02:08.777 NOSTRADAMUS FORESAW TERRIBLE PLAGUES, WARS, 00:02:08.896 --> 00:02:13.098 EARTHQUAKES, FLOODS, AND THE END OF THE WORLD. 00:02:13.200 --> 00:02:16.952 NOSTRADAMUS: NOT YET. 00:02:17.571 --> 00:02:21.490 NARRATOR: BUT HE DIDN'T GIVE ANY DATES. 00:02:22.793 --> 00:02:26.328 MORE THAN 400 YEARS AFTER HE UTTERED HIS LAST PROPHECY, 00:02:26.413 --> 00:02:29.748 THE APOCALYPSE HAS YET TO ARRIVE. 00:02:29.834 --> 00:02:34.419 BUT OUR DESIRE TO PEER INTO THE FUTURE STILL BURNS BRIGHT. 00:02:36.807 --> 00:02:39.624 ONCE, WE RELIED ON MYSTICISM. 00:02:39.727 --> 00:02:45.097 NOW, WE TURN TO ALGORITHMS. 00:02:47.601 --> 00:02:50.068 EVERY YEAR, THE FLOW OF DIGITAL INFORMATION 00:02:50.154 --> 00:02:53.805 GETS BIGGER AND WILDER. 00:02:53.908 --> 00:03:00.662 AT LEAST 2.5 QUINTILLION BYTES OF DATA IS PRODUCED EVERY DAY. 00:03:00.781 --> 00:03:03.866 COMPUTERS COMB THROUGH THIS TORRENT OF INFORMATION AND 00:03:03.951 --> 00:03:08.320 FIND THE DIGITAL TRAILS WE LEAVE BEHIND. 00:03:09.290 --> 00:03:14.593 THEY LET US LOOK INTO OUR PAST TO SEE THE FUTURE. 00:03:14.678 --> 00:03:17.963 BUT FINDING THOSE TRAILS, SEPARATING THE SIGNALS FROM 00:03:18.048 --> 00:03:21.166 ALL THAT NOISE IS NOT ALWAYS EASY. 00:03:25.689 --> 00:03:29.024 THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO SUCCEED ARE THE SEERS OF 00:03:29.143 --> 00:03:30.809 THE 21ST CENTURY. 00:03:30.895 --> 00:03:31.777 NATE SILVER: HI, I'M NATE SILVER, NOT NOSTRADAMUS. 00:03:31.862 --> 00:03:35.113 WE'RE QUITE OPPOSITE IN FACT. 00:03:35.849 --> 00:03:37.950 I'M THE FOUNDER AND EDITOR IN CHIEF OF FIVETHIRTYEIGHT AND 00:03:38.052 --> 00:03:40.619 AUTHOR OF THE SIGNAL AND THE NOISE. 00:03:43.157 --> 00:03:44.790 THE SIGNAL IS THE TRUTH. 00:03:44.875 --> 00:03:47.376 IT'S WHAT THE REAL WORLD IS, FOR BETTER OR WORSE. 00:03:47.494 --> 00:03:49.527 IT'S THINGS THAT LET YOU UNDERSTAND HOW ONE THING 00:03:49.630 --> 00:03:51.630 RELATES TO ANOTHER. 00:03:53.584 --> 00:03:57.886 AND NOISE IS JUST USELESS INFORMATION OR DISTRACTING 00:03:58.005 --> 00:04:04.176 INFORMATION THAT PREVENT YOU FROM UNDERSTANDING THE TRUTH. 00:04:06.680 --> 00:04:09.381 THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION IN THE WORLD IS, LIKE, 00:04:09.483 --> 00:04:11.650 DOUBLING EVERY YEAR OR TWO. 00:04:11.752 --> 00:04:13.936 IT DOESN'T MEAN THE AMOUNT OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE IN THE WORLD 00:04:14.021 --> 00:04:17.022 IS INCREASING AT NEARLY THAT RATE, RIGHT? 00:04:17.107 --> 00:04:19.691 A LOT OF IT IS A THOUSAND TEXT MESSAGES THAT YOUR TEENAGE 00:04:19.777 --> 00:04:23.128 DAUGHTER SENDS EVERY MONTH OR CAT PHOTOS ON THE INTERNET OR 00:04:23.230 --> 00:04:24.863 WHATEVER ELSE, RIGHT? 00:04:24.965 --> 00:04:27.165 AND SO IN THAT SENSE, IT'S LESS AND LESS OF 00:04:27.251 --> 00:04:31.003 A SIGNAL-RICH ENVIRONMENT AND THAT KIND OF CHANGES 00:04:31.088 --> 00:04:33.538 THE NATURE OF PREDICTION. 00:04:35.926 --> 00:04:39.761 NARRATOR: HUMANS ARE PREDICTING MACHINES. 00:04:40.965 --> 00:04:43.598 WE TRY TO GUESS HOW OTHER PEOPLE WILL ACT AND 00:04:43.717 --> 00:04:48.520 THE POSSIBLE OUTCOMES OF OUR OWN ACTIONS. 00:04:48.605 --> 00:04:51.390 WE CALCULATE THE ODDS OF SUCCESS OR FAILURE, 00:04:51.475 --> 00:04:54.059 ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE TAKING A RISK. 00:04:54.144 --> 00:04:55.694 NATE SILVER: IT'S ACTUALLY AMAZING IF YOU'RE OUT HERE ON 00:04:55.779 --> 00:04:57.646 THE STREETS OF NEW YORK AND PEOPLE ARE KIND OF MAKING 00:04:57.731 --> 00:04:59.648 PREDICTIONS OR CALCULATIONS ALL THE TIME ABOUT, 00:04:59.733 --> 00:05:02.634 "CAN I CROSS THE STREET?" 00:05:06.740 --> 00:05:08.373 BECAUSE WE REALLY DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO TRAFFIC LIGHTS 00:05:08.459 --> 00:05:09.574 AND STUFF HERE. 00:05:09.660 --> 00:05:11.910 SO CAN I CROSS THE STREET WITHOUT GETTING RUN OVER? 00:05:11.996 --> 00:05:13.912 HOW CAN I BE TALKING ON MY CELL PHONE AND 00:05:13.998 --> 00:05:16.381 NOT RUN INTO MY NEIGHBOR ON THE STREET? 00:05:16.467 --> 00:05:18.667 WAS IT FASTER TO WALK OR TAKE A CAB? 00:05:18.752 --> 00:05:20.552 THOSE EVERYDAY TYPES OF DISTINCTIONS, 00:05:20.637 --> 00:05:22.587 THEY'RE PREDICTIONS TOO. 00:05:28.095 --> 00:05:29.895 NARRATOR: HE MAY BE THE MOST FAMOUS STATISTICIAN 00:05:29.980 --> 00:05:32.514 IN THE WORLD, BUT NATE SILVER STARTED OUT 00:05:32.599 --> 00:05:35.100 APPLYING HIS GIFT FOR CALCULATING THE ODDS 00:05:35.185 --> 00:05:39.021 TO A LUCRATIVE CAREER PLAYING POKER. 00:05:39.106 --> 00:05:43.241 LATER, HE BEGAN HANDICAPPING BASEBALL AND POLITICS. 00:05:43.327 --> 00:05:47.079 ALL THREE HAVE MORE IN COMMON THAN YOU MAY THINK. 00:05:47.164 --> 00:05:49.147 NATE SILVER: I MEAN I THINK THERE'S NOTHING QUITE LIKE 00:05:49.249 --> 00:05:52.701 POKER FOR REALLY LETTING YOU EXPERIENCE WHAT PROBABILITY 00:05:52.786 --> 00:05:57.122 FEELS LIKE IN THE LONG RUN. 00:05:58.459 --> 00:06:00.258 'CAUSE YOU CAN SAY RIGHT NOW AS WE'RE FILMING THIS, 00:06:00.344 --> 00:06:02.177 THIS WILL EITHER LOOK RIDICULOUS OR BRILLIANT, 00:06:02.296 --> 00:06:04.296 BUT WE HAVE HILLARY CLINTON WITH A 70% CHANCE OF WINNING 00:06:04.381 --> 00:06:08.333 THE PRESIDENCY, ROUGHLY, AND DONALD TRUMP A 30% CHANCE. 00:06:08.435 --> 00:06:09.601 BY THE TIME THIS IS AIRING, 00:06:09.686 --> 00:06:11.853 YOU GUYS WILL KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. 00:06:11.972 --> 00:06:15.173 BUT MOST PEOPLE, WHEN YOU SAY 70-30, THEY DON'T KNOW QUITE 00:06:15.275 --> 00:06:16.191 WHAT THAT MEANS. 00:06:16.310 --> 00:06:18.276 THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE 30% REALLY FEELS LIKE. 00:06:20.814 --> 00:06:22.114 WHEN YOU PLAY POKER, 00:06:22.199 --> 00:06:24.015 THERE ARE CERTAIN DRAWS YOU MIGHT HAVE, RIGHT? 00:06:24.118 --> 00:06:27.369 WHERE CERTAIN TYPES OF FLUSH DRAWS MIGHT HAVE A 30% CHANCE 00:06:27.488 --> 00:06:28.820 OF COMING THROUGH. 00:06:28.906 --> 00:06:32.374 AND YOU EXPERIENCE THAT ON BOTH SIDES HUNDREDS OF TIMES 00:06:32.493 --> 00:06:35.160 OVER THE COURSE OF YOUR CAREER. 00:06:38.332 --> 00:06:41.566 AND SO YOU JUST KIND OF GET A VISCERAL UNDERSTANDING 00:06:41.668 --> 00:06:44.753 OF WHAT PROBABILITY IS LIKE. 00:06:44.838 --> 00:06:47.889 NARRATOR: BY APPLYING RIGID MATHEMATICAL PRECISION TO 00:06:48.008 --> 00:06:52.060 POLITICS, SILVER SUCCESSFULLY CALLED 49 OUT OF 50 STATES IN 00:06:52.179 --> 00:06:57.983 THE 2008 US GENERAL ELECTION AND ALL 50 STATES IN 2012. 00:06:59.353 --> 00:07:00.986 A KEY PART OF HIS APPROACH IS 00:07:01.071 --> 00:07:04.222 TO CONTINUALLY UPDATE INFORMATION. 00:07:04.324 --> 00:07:07.275 HE DOESN'T MAKE ONE PREDICTION AND STICK WITH IT. 00:07:07.361 --> 00:07:10.996 HIS FORECAST CHANGES AS HE GATHERS MORE DATA. 00:07:11.081 --> 00:07:13.898 NATE SILVER: YOU ALWAYS START OUT WITH A CERTAIN BELIEF 00:07:14.001 --> 00:07:15.617 ABOUT WHAT THE WORLD LOOKS LIKE. 00:07:15.702 --> 00:07:18.904 AND YOU'RE ALWAYS CHALLENGING THAT BELIEF. 00:07:19.973 --> 00:07:20.738 NARRATOR: ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES TO 00:07:20.841 --> 00:07:23.208 SILVER'S BELIEF CAME IN 2016. 00:07:23.293 --> 00:07:24.909 DONALD TRUMP: "YEAH-UH!" 00:07:25.012 --> 00:07:26.678 NARRATOR: WHEN DONALD TRUMP FIRST ENTERED THE 00:07:26.763 --> 00:07:32.250 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, SILVER PUT HIS ODDS OF WINNING AT 50-1. 00:07:32.352 --> 00:07:35.120 BUT IN THE DAYS LEADING UP TO THE ELECTION, 00:07:35.222 --> 00:07:38.523 HE DECLARED THE GAP BETWEEN CANDIDATES WAS CLOSING AND 00:07:38.625 --> 00:07:43.778 THE ODDS OF A TRUMP VICTORY WERE GROWING EVERY DAY. 00:07:44.398 --> 00:07:45.930 FOR THIS, HE WAS MOCKED BY THOSE WHO CONFIDENTLY 00:07:46.033 --> 00:07:49.985 PREDICTED AN EASY CLINTON WIN. 00:07:57.494 --> 00:08:00.412 NATE SILVER: PEOPLE ARE VERY STUBBORN ABOUT THEIR POINTS OF 00:08:00.497 --> 00:08:03.715 VIEW, ESPECIALLY IN REALMS LIKE POLITICS, ESPECIALLY IN 00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:06.084 REALMS WHERE THAT INVOLVE EXPERTISE, WHERE YOUR 00:08:06.170 --> 00:08:10.088 REPUTATION IS BANKED ON A CERTAIN THEORY BEING CORRECT. 00:08:10.174 --> 00:08:13.258 THE SIGNAL AND NOISE IS ALL ABOUT UNCERTAINTY AND 00:08:13.343 --> 00:08:15.627 HUMILITY AND THE CHALLENGES OF FORECASTING. 00:08:15.729 --> 00:08:16.595 AND THEN PEOPLE ARE LIKE, 00:08:16.680 --> 00:08:17.512 "OH, THIS GUY CAN PREDICT ANYTHING." 00:08:17.598 --> 00:08:19.397 AND SO THERE'S THAT CLASH. 00:08:19.499 --> 00:08:22.067 IT RESOLVES ITSELF ONCE YOU START TO SCREW THINGS UP, RIGHT? 00:08:22.169 --> 00:08:24.269 ONCE YOU START TO MAKE SOME BAD PREDICTIONS, IRONICALLY, 00:08:24.354 --> 00:08:26.905 THEN PEOPLE KIND OF UNDERSTAND IT BETTER, IN A WEIRD WAY. 00:08:26.990 --> 00:08:29.807 BUT IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING CLAIRVOYANT, IT'S NOT ABOUT 00:08:29.910 --> 00:08:31.993 BEING CERTAIN, IT'S ABOUT PROBABILITY. 00:08:32.112 --> 00:08:34.812 YOU HOPE YOU'RE RIGHT SLIGHTLY MORE OFTEN THAN 00:08:34.915 --> 00:08:36.314 THE AVERAGE PERSON. 00:08:36.416 --> 00:08:39.251 YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT GONNA BE RIGHT MORE THAN SLIGHTLY MORE 00:08:39.336 --> 00:08:41.286 OFTEN BECAUSE THE WORLD'S A COMPLICATED PLACE. 00:08:43.624 --> 00:08:44.656 BARISTA: WHAT'S ALL THIS? 00:08:44.758 --> 00:08:45.757 NOSTRADAMUS: EXCUSE ME? 00:08:45.842 --> 00:08:46.991 BARISTA: YOUR OUTFIT? 00:08:47.094 --> 00:08:49.177 NOSTRADAMUS: I AM NOSTRADAMUS, THE SEER. 00:08:49.296 --> 00:08:52.347 BARISTA: NOSTRADAMUS, MAY I ASK YOU A QUESTION? 00:08:52.466 --> 00:08:55.016 WHEN AM I GONNA DIE? 00:08:55.135 --> 00:08:56.768 NOSTRADAMUS: I DON'T FIXATE ON MINUTIAE, 00:08:56.853 --> 00:08:58.353 JUST THE BIG PICTURE. 00:08:58.472 --> 00:09:00.355 BARISTA: ALL RIGHT. 00:09:01.525 --> 00:09:03.275 NARRATOR: IT'S SAID THAT WHEN IT COMES TO MANKIND, 00:09:03.377 --> 00:09:10.148 ONLY ONE THING IS CERTAIN, WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE. 00:09:11.618 --> 00:09:16.154 WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHEN, BUT INSURANCE COMPANIES 00:09:16.256 --> 00:09:19.024 HAVE BEEN BETTING ON IT FOR CENTURIES. 00:09:19.126 --> 00:09:22.077 DALE HALL: A LONG TIME AGO, THE BEST ESTIMATOR OF 00:09:22.162 --> 00:09:25.297 MORTALITY THAT ANYONE COULD DO WAS JUST ASK AN AGE. 00:09:25.382 --> 00:09:26.381 HOW OLD ARE YOU? 00:09:26.500 --> 00:09:28.032 AND THAT'S PROBABLY GONNA BE YOUR BEST ESTIMATOR. 00:09:28.135 --> 00:09:31.035 THEN WE LEARNED OVER TIME THAT THERE'S ALSO ADDITIONAL 00:09:31.138 --> 00:09:34.005 VARIABLES THAT ARE VERY HELPFUL. 00:09:40.514 --> 00:09:44.549 AND YOU START COLLECTING SOME PIECES OF IN, 00:09:44.651 --> 00:09:46.618 THAT INFORMATION THAT COMPANIES CONTRIBUTE TO GET AT 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:51.273 A BROAD SET AND A BROAD LOOK FOR A FINAL MORTALITY TABLE. 00:09:54.411 --> 00:09:56.077 CHRISTINE HOFBECK: SO THE SOCIETY OF ACTUARIES ALREADY 00:09:56.196 --> 00:09:59.664 HAS MORTALITY TABLES THAT MIGHT SUGGEST THE PROBABILITY 00:09:59.750 --> 00:10:01.566 OF YOUR DEATH AT DIFFERENT AGES. 00:10:01.668 --> 00:10:04.619 GENERALLY WHAT WE'RE DOING WHEN WE DO UNDERWRITING OR 00:10:04.705 --> 00:10:07.205 WHEN WE GET INFORMATION ON WHETHER TO WRITE A POLICY IS 00:10:07.291 --> 00:10:10.292 TO DECIDE IF YOU ARE MORE OR LESS RISKY THAN 00:10:10.377 --> 00:10:11.743 THE AVERAGE PERSON. 00:10:11.845 --> 00:10:13.011 DALE HALL: GENDER, MALE VS FEMALE. 00:10:13.096 --> 00:10:14.296 DO YOU SMOKE OR NOT? 00:10:14.381 --> 00:10:17.299 TOBACCO USER VERSUS NON-TOBACCO USER. 00:10:17.384 --> 00:10:20.051 YOUR RELATIVE HEALTH NOW GETS UNDERWRITTEN, 00:10:20.137 --> 00:10:21.553 SO WHAT'S YOUR CHOLESTEROL LEVEL? 00:10:21.638 --> 00:10:23.138 WHAT'S YOUR BODY MASS INDEX? 00:10:23.223 --> 00:10:25.273 CHRISTINE HOFBECK: SO IF YOU ARE LESS RISKY, 00:10:25.392 --> 00:10:28.860 THEN YOU ARE A RISK THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO WRITE. 00:10:31.865 --> 00:10:34.766 NARRATOR: ACTUARIES ESTIMATE THE RISK OF YOUR DYING SOONER 00:10:34.868 --> 00:10:36.951 OR LIVING LONGER THAN AVERAGE. 00:10:37.070 --> 00:10:39.120 IF THEIR CALCULATIONS ARE WRONG OR IF YOU DIE IN 00:10:39.239 --> 00:10:42.240 A FREAK ACCIDENT, THEY WILL LOSE MONEY ON YOU. 00:10:42.326 --> 00:10:45.543 BUT ON AVERAGE, THEIR BET PAYS OFF. 00:10:47.414 --> 00:10:52.167 IT'S A MATTER OF NUMBERS, THE LAW OF LARGE NUMBERS. 00:10:54.304 --> 00:10:57.222 THE LAW STATES THAT THE MORE MEMBERS ARE IN AN INSURED GROUP, 00:10:57.307 --> 00:10:59.391 THE MORE LIKELY IT IS THAT THE NUMBER OF ACTUAL 00:10:59.476 --> 00:11:04.346 LOSSES WILL BE VERY CLOSE TO THE NUMBER OF EXPECTED LOSSES. 00:11:04.431 --> 00:11:07.065 THE SAME MATH IS BEHIND GAMBLING CASINOS. 00:11:07.150 --> 00:11:09.234 DALE HALL: IN BUILDING ANY MODEL, YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND 00:11:09.319 --> 00:11:13.988 HOW THE MATH WORKS, BUT THEN USING THAT IN ORDER TO HELP 00:11:14.107 --> 00:11:16.775 PREDICT BETTER FINANCIAL OUTCOMES OR PUTTING BETTER 00:11:16.860 --> 00:11:19.110 ESTIMATES AROUND FINANCIAL OUTCOMES. 00:11:19.196 --> 00:11:20.445 THAT'S REALLY THE HEART AND SOUL OF 00:11:20.530 --> 00:11:22.347 THE ACTUARIAL PROFESSION. 00:11:23.333 --> 00:11:24.949 CHRISTINE HOFBECK: I HAVE NOT PLOTTED OUT MY 00:11:25.035 --> 00:11:26.418 PERSONAL LIFE SPAN. 00:11:26.503 --> 00:11:28.787 HOWEVER, I DO OFTEN GET THE QUESTION OF 00:11:28.872 --> 00:11:31.506 "OH, YOU'RE AN ACTUARY? TELL ME WHEN I'M GOING TO DIE." 00:11:34.928 --> 00:11:35.993 AT THE END OF THE DAY, 00:11:36.096 --> 00:11:37.462 IT'S ALL PROBABILITIES. 00:11:37.547 --> 00:11:40.999 I COULD WALK OUTSIDE AND GET HIT BY A CAR. 00:11:41.101 --> 00:11:43.268 I HOPE THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN. 00:11:44.721 --> 00:11:47.605 NARRATOR: THE MORTALITY MODELS USED BY THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY 00:11:47.691 --> 00:11:50.225 PAVED THE WAY FOR A COMBINATION OF DATA SCIENCE 00:11:50.310 --> 00:11:54.062 AND FORTUNETELLING CALLED PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS. 00:11:54.147 --> 00:11:57.899 ERIC SIEGEL IS ONE OF THE FIELD'S HIGH PRIESTS. 00:11:57.984 --> 00:12:00.402 ERIC SIEGEL: PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS I WOULD SAY IS 00:12:00.487 --> 00:12:04.656 THE LATEST EVOLUTIONARY STEP OF THE INFORMATION AGE. 00:12:04.741 --> 00:12:08.493 PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS IS BIG DATA TECHNOLOGY THAT LEARNS 00:12:08.578 --> 00:12:12.046 FROM THAT DATA, WHICH SERVES AS EXPERIENCE, HOW TO MAKE 00:12:12.165 --> 00:12:15.583 PREDICTIONS FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL PERSON. 00:12:16.670 --> 00:12:18.703 NARRATOR: PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS FINDS PATTERNS 00:12:18.805 --> 00:12:21.005 HUMANS DON'T SEE. 00:12:21.091 --> 00:12:24.175 FOR INSTANCE, AN ALGORITHM DISCOVERED PEOPLE WHOSE 00:12:24.261 --> 00:12:27.095 FIRST NAMES ARE UNCOMMON OR TYPICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE 00:12:27.180 --> 00:12:30.014 OPPOSITE GENDER, SAY, GIRLS NAMED "MASON" 00:12:30.100 --> 00:12:32.100 OR BOYS NAMED "ASHLEY" 00:12:32.185 --> 00:12:35.653 ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE DEMOCRATS THAN REPUBLICANS. 00:12:37.607 --> 00:12:39.691 AND EMPLOYEES WITH CRIMINAL RECORDS ARE LIKELY TO BE MORE 00:12:39.776 --> 00:12:45.113 PRODUCTIVE ON THE JOB THAN PEOPLE WITH NO PAST ARRESTS. 00:12:46.616 --> 00:12:49.000 ERIC SIEGEL: WELL, HERE'S THE DEAL, YOU DON'T ACTUALLY NEED 00:12:49.085 --> 00:12:50.335 TO PREDICT ACCURATELY. 00:12:50.420 --> 00:12:52.069 PREDICTING BETTER THAN GUESSING IS THE 00:12:52.172 --> 00:12:53.705 NAME OF THE GAME. 00:12:53.790 --> 00:12:57.175 ACROSS ALL OF THESE PROCESSES THAT ARE IMPROVED BY 00:12:57.260 --> 00:13:00.762 PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS, IT'S IMPROVING IT BY ADDING 00:13:00.881 --> 00:13:02.714 A LITTLE PREDICTION. 00:13:04.217 --> 00:13:06.250 NARRATOR: THE ABILITY TO MAKE THESE STRANGE BUT USEFUL 00:13:06.353 --> 00:13:08.970 PREDICTIONS IS BEING FUELED BY AN EVEN MORE 00:13:09.055 --> 00:13:12.423 SIGNIFICANT BREAKTHROUGH, THE DEVELOPMENT OF 00:13:12.526 --> 00:13:16.294 A NEW FORM OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. 00:14:00.574 --> 00:14:02.740 COMPUTERS HAVE BEEN BETTER THAN HUMANS AT PLAYING CHESS 00:14:02.826 --> 00:14:06.778 SINCE THE 1990S. 00:14:07.948 --> 00:14:09.581 THAT'S BECAUSE THE MACHINES GOT BETTER AND BETTER AT 00:14:09.666 --> 00:14:12.784 PREDICTING THEIR OPPONENT'S NEXT MOVE. 00:14:13.620 --> 00:14:17.672 BUT IN 2016, GOOGLE DID EVEN BETTER THAN THAT. 00:14:17.791 --> 00:14:20.625 THEY CREATED AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE THAT DEFEATED 00:14:20.710 --> 00:14:24.178 A HUMAN GRANDMASTER AT THE GAME OF GO. 00:14:28.051 --> 00:14:30.501 GO IS IMMENSELY COMPLEX. 00:14:30.604 --> 00:14:32.270 AN AVERAGE TURN IN CHESS OFFERS ABOUT 00:14:32.355 --> 00:14:34.222 30 POSSIBLE MOVES. 00:14:34.307 --> 00:14:37.609 A GO TURN OFFERS 250. 00:14:37.694 --> 00:14:39.227 THERE ARE TOO MANY POTENTIAL MOVES FOR 00:14:39.312 --> 00:14:43.231 ANY COMPUTER TO PREDICT. 00:14:43.900 --> 00:14:46.868 SO THE GOOGLE TEAM DEVELOPED A NEW FORM OF AI CALLED A 00:14:46.987 --> 00:14:50.622 DEEP LEARNING NEURAL NETWORK. 00:14:52.826 --> 00:14:55.543 DEEP LEARNING DRAWS ON HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE THAT 00:14:55.662 --> 00:15:00.999 LOOSELY APPROXIMATE THE WEB OF NEURONS IN THE HUMAN BRAIN. 00:15:01.534 --> 00:15:04.135 GOOGLE FED THE COMPUTER MILLIONS OF GAMES, 00:15:04.220 --> 00:15:07.872 THEN HAD IT PLAY NONSTOP AGAINST ITSELF. 00:15:07.974 --> 00:15:10.391 AND SOON, IT LEARNED. 00:15:10.510 --> 00:15:14.395 IT GAINED SOMETHING LIKE INTUITION. 00:15:14.514 --> 00:15:17.899 THIS WAS A MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH IN AI BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN 00:15:18.018 --> 00:15:20.351 FOR HUMAN BEINGS? 00:15:21.021 --> 00:15:24.022 A SUPER POWERED AI COULD CHANGE THE WORLD BUT WILL IT 00:15:24.107 --> 00:15:26.491 CHANGE IT FOR THE BETTER? 00:15:32.816 --> 00:15:34.916 BARISTA: HERE'S YOUR DOUBLE LATTE, SIR. 00:15:35.269 --> 00:15:37.135 CHRIS: HEY, NOSTRADAMUS! 00:15:37.221 --> 00:15:38.887 I DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO SAY HI EARLIER. 00:15:38.972 --> 00:15:41.940 I FELT YOUR COLD LOOMING PRESENCE BEHIND ME IN LINE. 00:15:42.059 --> 00:15:43.591 IT'S A REAL PLEASURE. 00:15:43.694 --> 00:15:45.560 I THOUGHT YOU WERE ONE OF THOSE ANGRY GUYS THAT SITS 00:15:45.646 --> 00:15:47.279 ON STAGE DURING A COLLEGE COMMENCEMENT. 00:15:47.398 --> 00:15:48.947 NOSTRADAMUS: DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS FOR NOSTRADAMUS? 00:15:49.066 --> 00:15:50.265 CHRIS: YEAH, YEAH, YEAH! 00:15:50.367 --> 00:15:52.617 SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT, HOW DID YOU PREDICT THE FUTURE? 00:15:52.736 --> 00:15:55.237 NOSTRADAMUS: WELL, I KIND OF STOLE FROM SOME SCHOLARLY 00:15:55.322 --> 00:15:56.204 HISTORIANS, CLASSICAL HISTORIANS, AND THE SCARIER 00:15:56.290 --> 00:15:59.574 PARTS OF THE BIBLE. 00:15:59.660 --> 00:16:01.827 COUPLE OF PEOPLE I JUST WHAT YOU CALL RIPPED OFF. 00:16:01.912 --> 00:16:05.330 AND I WAS VERY VAGUE ON DATES AND PLACES TOO OF COURSE. 00:16:14.558 --> 00:16:18.310 NARRATOR: TODAY, PEOPLE DEMAND A HIGHER DEGREE OF ACCURACY. 00:16:18.429 --> 00:16:21.930 SO THEY TURN TO DEEP LEARNING NEURAL NETWORKS. 00:16:23.934 --> 00:16:26.868 DEEP LEARNING NEURAL NETWORKS CAN PROCESS VAST AMOUNTS OF 00:16:26.970 --> 00:16:31.490 INFORMATION AND FAR GREATER DEPTH THAN EVER BEFORE. 00:16:31.608 --> 00:16:36.178 LIKE HUMAN BRAINS, THEY'RE VERY GOOD AT PATTERN RECOGNITION. 00:16:36.280 --> 00:16:39.197 WHEN A DEEP LEARNING NEURAL NET SCANS A PICTURE, IT ASKS 00:16:39.283 --> 00:16:43.702 ITSELF, WHAT EXACTLY AM I LOOKING AT? 00:16:43.787 --> 00:16:46.254 AND WHAT DO I DO WHEN I SEE IT? 00:17:36.089 --> 00:17:38.039 BOB BOND: MY WIFE IS A GARDENER. 00:17:38.141 --> 00:17:42.344 AND SHE WAS HAVING TROUBLE WITH NEIGHBOR CATS USING OUR 00:17:42.429 --> 00:17:44.229 YARD AS A LITTER BOX, PARTICULARLY IN THE NIGHT WHEN 00:17:44.348 --> 00:17:46.565 WE COULDN'T KEEP AN EYE ON 'EM. 00:18:05.085 --> 00:18:09.788 I HAPPENED TO BE PLAYING WITH THESE DEEP LEARNING SYSTEMS 00:18:09.873 --> 00:18:12.791 AND IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT THE THING TO DO WOULD BE TO PUT A 00:18:12.876 --> 00:18:16.244 CAMERA IN THE FRONT YARD AND SEE IF WE COULD TRAIN THE 00:18:16.346 --> 00:18:20.382 CAMERA TO RECOGNIZE CATS. 00:18:23.520 --> 00:18:28.089 BASICALLY, THE SYSTEM IS A STANDARD SURVEILLANCE CAMERA 00:18:28.191 --> 00:18:30.892 IN THE YARD. 00:18:31.595 --> 00:18:33.695 THE SURVEILLANCE CAMERA DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT CATS, 00:18:33.780 --> 00:18:36.982 WHAT IT DOES IS IT DETECTS MOVEMENT. 00:18:37.651 --> 00:18:39.901 WHERE THIS SYSTEM IS DIFFERENT, THOSE IMAGES ARE 00:18:39.987 --> 00:18:43.738 FED DIRECTLY INTO THIS DEEP LEARNING SYSTEM. 00:18:43.824 --> 00:18:46.207 AND THE DEEP LEARNING SYSTEM UNDERSTANDS HOW 00:18:46.293 --> 00:18:50.161 TO RECOGNIZE CATS. 00:18:50.247 --> 00:18:53.048 AND IF IT SEES A CAT IN THE IMAGE, THEN IT TURNS ON 00:18:53.133 --> 00:18:55.050 THE SPRINKLING SYSTEM. 00:18:59.256 --> 00:19:03.508 I'M A PROGRAMMER WITH NVIDIA. 00:19:04.227 --> 00:19:07.795 NVIDIA DESIGNED THESE GPU CHIPS TO BE GOOD AT IMAGE 00:19:07.898 --> 00:19:11.016 PROCESSING AND IT TURNS OUT THAT THEY'RE VERY GOOD 00:19:11.101 --> 00:19:15.153 AT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. 00:19:17.858 --> 00:19:20.808 THE REASON THEY'RE GOOD AT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS 00:19:20.911 --> 00:19:24.579 THERE ARE MANY, MANY PARALLEL PROCESSORS. 00:19:24.665 --> 00:19:27.866 AND EACH PARALLEL PROCESSOR CAN BE PROGRAMMED TO TAKE A 00:19:27.951 --> 00:19:31.119 SMALL PART OF THE IMAGE OR A SMALL PART OF THE ARTIFICIAL 00:19:31.204 --> 00:19:35.023 INTELLIGENCE NETWORK AND WORK ON JUST THAT PIECE AND THEN 00:19:35.125 --> 00:19:39.761 THE PIECES OF ALL THESE PARALLEL UNITS ARE AGGREGATED 00:19:39.846 --> 00:19:42.297 TOGETHER AND THE END RESULT COMES OUT. 00:19:43.133 --> 00:19:44.966 NARRATOR: TO TRAIN HIS DEEP LEARNING SYSTEM, BOB FED IT 00:19:45.052 --> 00:19:48.770 MILLIONS OF PICTURES OF CATS ON THE INTERNET. 00:19:48.855 --> 00:19:50.972 WITH A LITTLE POSITIVE RE-ENFORCEMENT, THE COMPUTER 00:19:51.058 --> 00:19:55.560 LEARNED HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE CATS FROM OTHER ANIMALS. 00:19:58.815 --> 00:20:00.899 BOB BOND: WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS THE CAT AS CAPTURED BY THE 00:20:00.984 --> 00:20:04.703 CAMERA AND THEN YOU CAN SEE HOW THE DEEP LEARNING SYSTEM 00:20:04.821 --> 00:20:07.422 HAS CATEGORIZED THE PIXELS IN THE CAT. 00:20:07.524 --> 00:20:09.574 NOW AT THE POINT THAT I DEPLOYED IT, 00:20:09.660 --> 00:20:12.394 THE DEEP LEARNING SYSTEM DIDN'T RECOGNIZE THEM VERY WELL. 00:20:12.496 --> 00:20:14.996 THE CATS ON THE INTERNET ARE TYPICALLY, YOU KNOW, 00:20:15.098 --> 00:20:17.065 CUTE LITTLE GUYS LAYING ON THE OWNER'S LAP AND 00:20:17.167 --> 00:20:20.335 A FRONTAL IMAGE OF THEM. 00:20:20.437 --> 00:20:21.586 AND THEY DON'T LOOK LIKE THAT AT ALL. 00:20:21.672 --> 00:20:23.755 MY CATS ARE GENERALLY SLINKERS. 00:20:23.840 --> 00:20:26.174 THEY'RE SLINKING AROUND MY YARD. 00:20:28.729 --> 00:20:31.646 SO WHAT I HAD TO DO WAS TAKE SOME OF THE IMAGES I CAPTURED 00:20:31.732 --> 00:20:35.233 OF THE CATS AND THEN ADD THEM TO THE TRAINING. 00:21:04.798 --> 00:21:07.082 AND THAT WORKED OUT REALLY WELL. 00:21:08.485 --> 00:21:11.519 ORIGINALLY, SOMETHING LIKE 30% OF THE CATS WERE RECOGNIZED 00:21:11.605 --> 00:21:13.188 IN THE DEEP LEARNING SYSTEM. 00:21:13.273 --> 00:21:17.759 OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT THREE MONTHS, I'VE RAMPED THAT 00:21:17.861 --> 00:21:21.062 UP GRADUALLY FROM THIRTY PERCENT TO SIXTY PERCENT. 00:21:21.148 --> 00:21:22.981 THE CAMERA'S CURRENTLY RECOGNIZING SOMETHING LIKE 00:21:23.066 --> 00:21:27.152 90% OF THE CATS THAT COME INTO THE YARD. 00:21:28.438 --> 00:21:31.956 SO IT REALLY DOES A VERY GOOD JOB. 00:21:32.793 --> 00:21:33.742 NARRATOR: SOME DEEP LEARNING SYSTEMS ARE NOW BETTER AT 00:21:33.827 --> 00:21:38.379 RECOGNIZING IMAGES THAN HUMAN BEINGS ARE. 00:21:38.465 --> 00:21:41.166 AND THAT INCREASE IN SYNTHETIC BRAINPOWER IS HAVING A BIG 00:21:41.251 --> 00:21:46.254 EFFECT ON THE ACCURACY OF OUR PREDICTIONS. 00:21:46.339 --> 00:21:49.340 FOR INSTANCE, PREDICTING THE WEATHER MAY BE THE MOST 00:21:49.426 --> 00:21:52.960 CHALLENGING PROBLEM HUMANS TACKLE ON A DAILY BASIS. 00:21:53.063 --> 00:21:56.347 THE WEATHER SYSTEM IS UNIMAGINABLY COMPLEX. 00:21:56.433 --> 00:22:00.018 BUT BY COUPLING MACHINE LEARNING TO PREDICTIVE MODELING, 00:22:00.103 --> 00:22:02.687 HUMANS HAVE GOTTEN MUCH BETTER AT PULLING SIGNALS 00:22:02.773 --> 00:22:05.840 FROM VERY NOISY DATA. 00:22:07.911 --> 00:22:09.778 NATE SILVER: YOU PROBABLY HEARD THE PHRASE THAT 00:22:09.863 --> 00:22:11.780 A BUTTERFLY FLAPS ITS WINGS IN BEIJING AND 00:22:11.865 --> 00:22:16.584 THERE'S A TORNADO IN TEXAS, WHERE ONE EVENT POTENTIALLY 00:22:16.670 --> 00:22:18.653 AFFECTS EVERY OTHER EVENT. 00:22:18.755 --> 00:22:20.088 IN WEATHER FORECASTING FOR MANY THINGS, 00:22:20.173 --> 00:22:22.624 THEY'VE FIGURED OUT EVENTUALLY YOU'RE KIND OF 00:22:22.709 --> 00:22:24.592 SIMULATING THE BUTTERFLY, RIGHT? 00:22:24.678 --> 00:22:27.161 BY HAVING A VERY, VERY POWERFUL COMPUTER AND A VERY 00:22:27.264 --> 00:22:29.964 GOOD THEORY ABOUT HOW THESE INTERACTIONS WORK. 00:22:33.353 --> 00:22:35.603 A GENERATION AGO, WEATHER FORECASTING WAS KIND OF THE 00:22:35.689 --> 00:22:37.806 BUTT OF JOKES REALLY AND IT REALLY WASN'T THAT 00:22:37.891 --> 00:22:40.608 MUCH BETTER THAN RANDOM. 00:22:40.694 --> 00:22:42.777 BUT IT'S IMPROVED BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS. 00:22:42.863 --> 00:22:44.896 BOTH FOR PREDICTING EVERYDAY EVENTS LIKE TEMPERATURE AND 00:22:44.981 --> 00:22:47.899 PRECIPITATION AND FOR MAJOR CATASTROPHIC EVENTS LIKE 00:22:47.984 --> 00:22:50.618 HURRICANES WHERE THE ACCURACY OF HURRICANE PREDICTIONS HAS 00:22:50.704 --> 00:22:55.523 INCREASED BY ABOUT 300% OVER THE PAST 25 YEARS. 00:22:55.625 --> 00:22:57.909 AND THAT SAVES A LOT OF LIVES. 00:23:03.667 --> 00:23:05.216 MARY BETH GERHARDT: THE DIFFICULTY IS DEFINITELY 00:23:05.335 --> 00:23:06.835 FINDING THE TRUTH. 00:23:06.920 --> 00:23:08.753 IT'S NOT ABOUT MAKING A FORECAST A LOT OF THE TIMES. 00:23:08.872 --> 00:23:11.639 A LOT OF TIMES, IT'S FINDING OUT HOW CONFIDENT YOU ARE IN 00:23:11.725 --> 00:23:14.375 THAT FORECAST AND DETERMINING WHAT YOU KNOW AND 00:23:14.477 --> 00:23:15.727 WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW. 00:23:15.846 --> 00:23:17.545 BUT THANKFULLY, THE MODELS HAVE GOTTEN REALLY GOOD. 00:23:17.647 --> 00:23:21.399 SO WE'VE GOTTEN BETTER AT PREDICTING EVENTS. 00:23:24.237 --> 00:23:25.737 JOE SIENKIEWICZ: SO I STARTED OUT 28 YEARS AGO. 00:23:25.856 --> 00:23:28.723 JUST IMAGINE FORECAST INFORMATION CAME 00:23:28.825 --> 00:23:30.325 IN THE FORM OF PAPER. 00:23:30.427 --> 00:23:31.860 PILES OF PAPER. 00:23:31.962 --> 00:23:33.695 IT LIMITED THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION 00:23:33.780 --> 00:23:35.797 THAT WE COULD LOOK AT. 00:23:35.899 --> 00:23:38.933 WE SEE THINGS NOW IN THE MODELS THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY 00:23:39.035 --> 00:23:41.920 IN SOME WAYS LEARNING AND CONFIRMING USING OTHER 00:23:42.038 --> 00:23:44.572 INFORMATION, OBSERVATIONS, SATELLITE DATA. 00:23:44.674 --> 00:23:47.375 SO THINGS HAVE CHANGED ENORMOUSLY IN MY CAREER. 00:23:47.460 --> 00:23:50.011 NARRATOR: TODAY, FORECASTERS CAN RELY ON A VAST ARRAY OF 00:23:50.096 --> 00:23:54.632 WEATHER SENSORS ON THE GROUND, AT SEA, IN THE AIR, 00:23:54.718 --> 00:23:57.084 AND EVEN SPACE. 00:23:57.187 --> 00:23:59.921 THIS INFORMATION IS FED INTO COMPUTER MODELS THAT BUILD 00:24:00.023 --> 00:24:03.725 ON OUR DEEP KNOWLEDGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSICS. 00:24:04.861 --> 00:24:05.643 DR WILLIAM LAPENTA: THE ATMOSPHERE IS BASICALLY 00:24:05.729 --> 00:24:08.396 A FLUID, JUST LIKE WATER, FISH TANK. 00:24:08.481 --> 00:24:11.933 AND FLUIDS ARE DEFINED BY MATHEMATICAL EQUATIONS IN 00:24:12.035 --> 00:24:14.101 TERMS OF THEIR STRUCTURE AND HOW THEY WOULD 00:24:14.204 --> 00:24:16.955 EVOLVE WITH TIME. 00:24:20.126 --> 00:24:23.044 SO WE GO FOR THE MAJOR TERMS IN AN EQUATION AND THEN WE PUT 00:24:23.129 --> 00:24:25.797 THEM INTO A COMPUTER MODEL AND WE TRY TO GET A SOLUTION OF 00:24:25.916 --> 00:24:29.250 HOW THE ATMOSPHERE WILL EVOLVE. 00:24:31.421 --> 00:24:33.922 NARRATOR: DR WILLIAM LAPENTA IS THE DIRECTOR OF NOAA'S NINE 00:24:34.007 --> 00:24:37.225 WEATHER PREDICTION CENTERS. 00:24:37.310 --> 00:24:40.511 WHEN A TORNADO IS FORMING OR A HURRICANE IS BREWING, 00:24:40.597 --> 00:24:45.433 THE ACCURACY OF HIS MODELS CAN BE A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH. 00:24:45.518 --> 00:24:48.820 BUT BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY VARIABLES IN THE ATMOSPHERE, 00:24:48.939 --> 00:24:52.523 NO MODEL SPITS OUT THE RIGHT PREDICTION EVERY TIME. 00:24:52.609 --> 00:24:56.644 NOAA COMPENSATES BY RUNNING THEIR MODELS DOZENS OF TIMES, 00:24:56.746 --> 00:25:00.865 INTRODUCING RANDOM VARIATIONS IN THE DATA. 00:25:01.918 --> 00:25:04.535 THE RESULT IS A CLUSTER OF POSSIBLE FUTURES 00:25:04.621 --> 00:25:07.038 CALLED AN ENSEMBLE. 00:25:07.123 --> 00:25:08.957 DR WILLIAM LAPENTA: SO LET'S JUST SAY THAT MY PUTT 00:25:09.042 --> 00:25:11.542 WAS A HURRICANE TRACK, OKAY? 00:25:11.628 --> 00:25:13.995 SO I PUTT ONCE, YOU SEE THE BALL ROLL, 00:25:14.097 --> 00:25:15.129 YOU SEE IT ROLL A CERTAIN WAY. 00:25:15.215 --> 00:25:19.050 OKAY, THAT'S ONE PIECE OF INFORMATION. 00:25:20.553 --> 00:25:23.721 SO AN ENSEMBLE MEANS YOU WOULD DO THAT MANY TIMES OVER. 00:25:23.807 --> 00:25:29.694 MAYBE 20 TIMES, MAYBE 40 TIMES. 00:25:30.697 --> 00:25:32.680 AND THE THING IS EVERY TIME YOU PUT IT DOWN AND STROKE IT, 00:25:32.782 --> 00:25:34.983 SOMETHING CHANGES. 00:25:35.068 --> 00:25:37.452 SO THEN IF THE TRAJECTORIES OF THE BALLS ARE VERY CLOSE TO 00:25:37.554 --> 00:25:41.322 EACH OTHER, THAT MEANS YOU EITHER HAVE A VERY GOOD MODEL, 00:25:41.408 --> 00:25:43.691 OR THERE'S A HIGH LEVEL OF PREDICTABILITY IN THAT 00:25:43.793 --> 00:25:46.995 HURRICANE TRACK, OR BOTH. 00:25:48.331 --> 00:25:50.031 MARY BETH GERHARDT: THESE ARE CALLED SPAGHETTI PLOTS, 00:25:50.133 --> 00:25:52.400 AND IT'S ESSENTIALLY JUST DETERMINISTIC GUIDANCE 00:25:52.502 --> 00:25:54.886 OVERLAID WITH A BUNCH OF ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE, SO YOU CAN 00:25:55.005 --> 00:25:58.205 REALLY SEE A LOT OF INFORMATION ON ONE SCREEN. 00:25:58.308 --> 00:26:00.375 WHEN THEY'RE CLOSER TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE HIGHER 00:26:00.477 --> 00:26:01.943 CONFIDENCE IN YOUR FORECAST. 00:26:02.045 --> 00:26:03.978 YOU KNOW THERE'S MORE CERTAINTY IN YOUR FORECAST. 00:26:04.080 --> 00:26:07.382 AND THEN AS YOU GO OUT IN TIME, SOLUTIONS BEGIN TO DIVERGE. 00:26:07.484 --> 00:26:09.851 WE BECOME MORE UNCERTAIN ABOUT THE FORECAST, 00:26:09.953 --> 00:26:12.487 AND REALLY JUST THE SLIGHTEST DIFFERENCE CAN MAKE A 00:26:12.572 --> 00:26:15.189 HUGE CHANGE IN THE FORECAST. 00:26:16.860 --> 00:26:17.859 DR WILLIAM LAPENTA: WE'RE NEVER GONNA GET 00:26:17.944 --> 00:26:19.660 A PERFECT NUMERICAL FORECAST. 00:26:19.746 --> 00:26:21.229 YOU CAN'T HAVE AN OBSERVATION EVERYWHERE. 00:26:21.331 --> 00:26:23.698 YOU CANNOT KNOW WHERE THE TEMPERATURE IS AT EVERY SINGLE 00:26:23.783 --> 00:26:26.834 POINT IN THE ATMOSPHERE. 00:26:27.537 --> 00:26:29.370 NARRATOR: WEATHER PREDICTION MAY NEVER BE PERFECT, 00:26:29.456 --> 00:26:32.623 BUT THE STEADY GAINS WE MAKE IN ACCURACY HAVE SAVED THOUSANDS, 00:26:32.709 --> 00:26:36.677 PERHAPS MILLIONS OF LIVES. 00:26:36.763 --> 00:26:43.084 NOW, SCIENTISTS ARE TACKLING AN EVEN BIGGER PROBLEM. 00:26:43.186 --> 00:26:46.304 CAN PREDICTIVE TECHNOLOGY PREVENT THE APOCALYPSE? 00:26:52.804 --> 00:26:55.621 NARRATOR: TODAY, PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS IS BEING USED TO 00:26:55.723 --> 00:26:58.957 TACKLE QUESTIONS THAT ONCE, ONLY MYSTICS AND MADMEN WOULD 00:26:59.060 --> 00:27:02.895 HAVE DARED TO ANSWER. 00:27:02.980 --> 00:27:06.165 MADISON: SO, HOW DOES THE WORLD END? 00:27:06.267 --> 00:27:07.800 NOSTRADAMUS: A GREAT FIRE WILL COME FROM THE SKY AND 00:27:07.902 --> 00:27:09.985 LAY WASTE TO THE WORLD. 00:27:10.104 --> 00:27:13.989 MADISON: WHEN? 00:27:15.243 --> 00:27:16.692 NARRATOR: SIXTY-FIVE MILLION YEARS AGO, 00:27:16.778 --> 00:27:21.831 AN ASTEROID WIPED OUT THE EARTH'S DOMINANT SPECIES. 00:27:21.949 --> 00:27:24.083 IT COULD HAPPEN AGAIN. 00:27:24.168 --> 00:27:26.702 BUT IF WE COULD SEE THE NEXT KILLER ASTEROID COMING AND 00:27:26.788 --> 00:27:30.623 PREDICT WHEN IT WILL STRIKE, HUMANITY MIGHT ESCAPE 00:27:30.708 --> 00:27:33.542 THE FATE OF THE DINOSAURS. 00:27:35.513 --> 00:27:40.933 PAVLOS PROTOPAPAS AND HIS TEAM AT HARVARD ARE WORKING ON IT. 00:27:41.018 --> 00:27:43.519 PAVLOS STARTED OUT AS A THEORETICAL PHYSICIST. 00:27:43.638 --> 00:27:46.605 THEN HE BEGAN WORKING IN BIG DATA AND IMMEDIATELY SAW ITS 00:27:46.691 --> 00:27:49.475 POTENTIAL FOR ASTROPHYSICS. 00:27:50.645 --> 00:27:52.077 PAVLOS PROTOPAPAS: MY MENTOR USED TO CALL ME A PARASITE 00:27:52.180 --> 00:27:54.613 BECAUSE I USED TO GO AND TAKE DATA FROM OTHER PEOPLE AND 00:27:54.699 --> 00:27:57.316 DO ANALYSIS BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T, THEY WOULD JUST USE THE DATA 00:27:57.401 --> 00:28:00.035 FOR THEIR SPECIFIC PROBLEM, BUT I SAID, 00:28:00.154 --> 00:28:01.687 "LOOK, THE DATA THERE, THERE ARE STUFF THERE, 00:28:01.789 --> 00:28:03.038 WE CAN FIND THINGS." 00:28:03.157 --> 00:28:04.957 SO I STARTED GETTING THE DATA FROM EVERYBODY AND 00:28:05.042 --> 00:28:07.526 STARTED DOING ANALYSIS. 00:28:07.628 --> 00:28:10.129 NARRATOR: TO PAVLOS, THE ENORMOUS POOL OF DATA 00:28:10.214 --> 00:28:13.499 COLLECTED BY SATELLITES AND TELESCOPES IS LIKE TREASURE 00:28:13.584 --> 00:28:15.501 BURIED IN THE OCEAN. 00:28:15.586 --> 00:28:16.585 PAVLOS PROTOPAPAS: WELL FIRST OF ALL, ASTRONOMY HAS BEEN 00:28:16.671 --> 00:28:20.306 COLLECTING DATA SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME. 00:28:20.391 --> 00:28:24.844 PEOPLE LOOK AT THE SKY, THEY START WRITING DOWN THINGS, 00:28:24.946 --> 00:28:26.729 THEY COLLECT DATA ABOUT WHERE THE STARS ARE, 00:28:26.848 --> 00:28:29.849 WHERE THE PLANETS ARE, WHEN THE SUN RISES, WHEN THE SUN SETS, 00:28:29.934 --> 00:28:32.318 AND ALL THIS THING. 00:28:33.437 --> 00:28:35.404 NARRATOR: AS THE GURU OF "EXTREME COMPUTING," 00:28:35.523 --> 00:28:37.773 PAVLOS RUNS PREDICTIVE SIMULATIONS ON ALMOST 00:28:37.859 --> 00:28:41.393 UNIMAGINABLY LARGE SCALES LOOKING FOR SOLUTIONS 00:28:41.495 --> 00:28:45.114 TO THE WORLD'S MOST COMPLEX PROBLEMS. 00:28:46.417 --> 00:28:49.084 AND FEW CHALLENGES ARE GREATER THAN HIS CURRENT MISSION, 00:28:49.203 --> 00:28:51.604 TO FIND AND PREDICT THE PATHS OF EVERY POTENTIAL 00:28:51.706 --> 00:28:54.473 PLANET-KILLER IN SPACE. 00:28:54.575 --> 00:28:58.377 PAVLOS PROTOPAPAS: NASA HAD A MANDATE TO FIND ALL ASTEROIDS 00:28:58.462 --> 00:29:03.048 THAT ARE ABOUT 1093 YARDS BIG, WHICH HAS BEEN MET NOW. 00:29:04.685 --> 00:29:09.438 NOW THEY HAVE A NEW MANDATE TO FIND ALL OF THEM AT 153 YARDS. 00:29:09.557 --> 00:29:12.892 AND 153 YARDS IS, IF IT HITS EARTH, IT'S BIG ENOUGH TO 00:29:12.994 --> 00:29:16.111 DESTROY A CITY LIKE BOSTON. 00:29:19.817 --> 00:29:25.404 SO RIGHT NOW, THE EFFORT IS TO FIND ALL 153 YARD ASTEROIDS 00:29:25.489 --> 00:29:28.707 OUT THERE THAT POSSIBLY CAN HIT EARTH. 00:29:30.211 --> 00:29:31.660 NARRATOR: THE MILKY WAY ALONE CONTAINS AT LEAST 00:29:31.746 --> 00:29:34.580 A HUNDRED BILLION STARS. 00:29:34.665 --> 00:29:37.666 WE HAVE ONLY RECENTLY BEEN ABLE TO SPOT PLANETS AROUND 00:29:37.752 --> 00:29:40.052 THE NEAREST STARS. 00:29:40.137 --> 00:29:42.838 SO, SPOTTING A 460-FOOT-LONG CHUNK OF ROCK 00:29:42.924 --> 00:29:44.957 WOULD SEEM NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE. 00:29:45.059 --> 00:29:47.092 BUT PHYSICS GIVES US A WAY. 00:29:47.178 --> 00:29:49.228 PAVLOS PROTOPAPAS: STARS DON'T MOVE. 00:29:49.313 --> 00:29:51.430 I MEAN, THEY MOVE IN THE SKY BECAUSE WE MOVE AS EARTH, 00:29:51.515 --> 00:29:55.768 BUT THE RELATIVE POSITIONS DON'T MOVE. 00:30:00.157 --> 00:30:04.143 PLANETS, ASTEROIDS, AND EVERYTHING, MOVE. 00:30:05.746 --> 00:30:09.949 SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE PLANET AT NIGHT, AT 11:00 PM. 00:30:10.034 --> 00:30:13.652 AT 12:00, YOU SEE IT HAS MOVED RELATIVE TO THE STARS, RIGHT? 00:30:15.790 --> 00:30:17.873 NARRATOR: TO FIND MOVING OBJECTS IN SPACE, YOU COMPARE 00:30:17.959 --> 00:30:21.860 A SERIES OF PICTURES TAKEN OVER TIME, SAY, TWO IMAGES 00:30:21.963 --> 00:30:24.897 A NIGHT OVER MONTHS OR YEARS. 00:30:25.800 --> 00:30:28.500 THEN YOU REMOVE ALL THE SOURCES THAT DON'T MOVE. 00:30:28.602 --> 00:30:30.970 YOU'RE STILL LEFT WITH A MOSAIC OF LIGHT, BUT 00:30:31.055 --> 00:30:34.707 MACHINE-LEARNING SOFTWARE CAN DETECT THE TINY CHANGES IN 00:30:34.809 --> 00:30:37.109 THESE MILLIONS OF FLARES. 00:30:38.145 --> 00:30:39.278 PAVLOS PROTOPAPAS: SO YOU HAVE TO LINK THEM AND 00:30:39.363 --> 00:30:40.362 YOU HAVE TO CONNECT THEM. 00:30:40.481 --> 00:30:41.680 IT'S LIKE CONNECTING DOTS. 00:30:41.782 --> 00:30:46.568 AND YOU CONNECT DOTS SO THEY GO ACCORDING TO AN ORBIT 00:30:46.654 --> 00:30:49.021 IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM. 00:30:49.123 --> 00:30:50.489 AND THIS IS A CLASSIC PROBLEM OF 00:30:50.574 --> 00:30:52.708 SEARCHING THREE-DIMENSIONAL SPACE. 00:30:52.827 --> 00:30:56.161 THESE ASTEROIDS MOVE BASED ON HOW THEY FEEL GRAVITY FROM THE 00:30:56.247 --> 00:30:58.414 SUN AND THE OTHER PLANETS. 00:30:58.499 --> 00:31:01.383 SO, THE MOMENT THAT YOU KNOW WHERE THEY ARE, YOU CAN 00:31:01.502 --> 00:31:05.004 ACTUALLY MAKE THE ORBIT VERY, VERY WELL, RIGHT? 00:31:05.089 --> 00:31:08.724 BUT MORE OBSERVATIONS WE HAVE, MORE TIMES WE SEE THIS OBJECT 00:31:08.843 --> 00:31:12.377 AND FURTHER AWAY IN TIME WE HAVE THEM, MORE CONSTRAINED WE 00:31:12.480 --> 00:31:15.514 CAN MAKE THE ORBIT TO THE POINT EVENTUALLY YOU CAN 00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:18.901 CONSTRAIN IT ENOUGH TO KNOW IT'S GONNA COME CLOSE OR 00:31:19.020 --> 00:31:21.320 IT'S GONNA HIT EARTH. 00:31:22.606 --> 00:31:24.556 NARRATOR: IF WE CAN PREDICT AN ASTEROID STRIKE IS COMING, 00:31:24.658 --> 00:31:27.326 WE MAY HAVE A FIGHTING CHANCE TO STOP IT. 00:31:27.411 --> 00:31:30.362 BECAUSE IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO SEE THE FUTURE, 00:31:30.448 --> 00:31:33.332 WE WANT TO CHANGE THE FUTURE. 00:31:42.710 --> 00:31:44.493 BRENNA BERMAN: THE GOAL OF THE PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS PROGRAM 00:31:44.578 --> 00:31:48.413 IN CHICAGO IS TO FIND PATTERNS IN DATA AND TO USE THOSE 00:31:48.516 --> 00:31:52.451 PATTERNS TO MAKE OUR CITY SERVICES MORE EFFECTIVE. 00:31:53.821 --> 00:31:56.288 TOM SCHENK: SO IT WAS A PROJECT WHERE WE WERE LOOKING 00:31:56.390 --> 00:31:58.190 AT ALL THESE DIFFERENT SORT OF REQUESTS 00:31:58.275 --> 00:31:59.391 YOU CAN MAKE OF THE CITY. 00:31:59.493 --> 00:32:00.809 WE CALL THEM SERVICE REQUESTS. 00:32:00.895 --> 00:32:03.595 WHEN YOU CALL 311 ON THE PHONE, YOU MAKE A REQUEST. 00:32:03.697 --> 00:32:05.447 AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR CORRELATIONS AS WE'RE MINING 00:32:05.566 --> 00:32:07.933 THROUGH A BUNCH OF DATA 00:32:12.139 --> 00:32:14.456 TO TRY AND FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, IS THERE A RELATIONSHIP HERE? 00:32:14.575 --> 00:32:16.742 CAN WE PREDICT SOMETHING FROM IT? 00:32:17.845 --> 00:32:20.379 AND SOMETHING THAT KEPT COMING UP OVER AND OVER WAS BEING 00:32:20.464 --> 00:32:22.965 ABLE TO PREDICT WHERE RATS ARE IN THE CITY. 00:32:24.585 --> 00:32:26.051 JOSIE CRUZ: RODENT CONTROL, CAN I HELP YOU? 00:32:26.137 --> 00:32:28.087 WE ARE THE BUREAU OF RODENT CONTROL. 00:32:28.172 --> 00:32:30.455 WE WORK UNDER STREETS & SANITATION. 00:32:30.558 --> 00:32:32.307 AND WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY IS WE'RE WORKING 00:32:32.426 --> 00:32:34.393 THE PREVENTIVE BAITING PROJECT. 00:32:34.462 --> 00:32:35.344 TOM SCHENK: WE CALL IT RAT PATROL, 00:32:35.429 --> 00:32:36.979 IS THEIR NICKNAME FOR IT. 00:32:37.264 --> 00:32:38.063 JOSIE CRUZ: 4900 TO MAIN. 00:32:38.149 --> 00:32:40.482 FROM 4991, MR COGLAND COME UP. 00:32:40.601 --> 00:32:43.735 I'M TELLING YOU I WAS REALLY, REALLY SHOCKED WHEN 00:32:43.821 --> 00:32:45.404 THEY CAME TO ME AND SAID, 00:32:45.489 --> 00:32:48.157 "WE'RE PREDICTING WHERE THERE'S GOING TO BE RATS." 00:32:49.276 --> 00:32:51.026 TOM SCHENK: WE STARTED OFF WITH ABOUT 350 DIFFERENT VARIABLES, 00:32:51.112 --> 00:32:53.779 350 DIFFERENT PIECES OF DATA TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND AND 00:32:53.864 --> 00:32:56.832 PREDICT WHERE THESE RODENT COMPLAINTS WERE GONNA HAPPEN 00:32:56.951 --> 00:32:58.584 ACROSS THE CITY OF CHICAGO. 00:32:58.669 --> 00:32:59.868 AND AFTER WE DID SOME STATISTICS, 00:32:59.954 --> 00:33:02.004 WE KIND OF SETTLED ON ABOUT 31 DIFFERENT FACTORS 00:33:02.123 --> 00:33:03.755 THAT SEEM TO PREDICT REALLY WELL. 00:33:03.841 --> 00:33:06.508 FOR INSTANCE, THINGS LIKE SANITATION CODE COMPLAINTS. 00:33:06.627 --> 00:33:09.044 GARBAGE IN THE ALLEYWAY OR BROKEN TRASH BINS. 00:33:09.130 --> 00:33:11.130 AND SO WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT ALL THAT DATA AND THEN WE CAN 00:33:11.215 --> 00:33:15.000 ACTUALLY PREDICT WHERE THESE BLUE DOTS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN. 00:33:15.970 --> 00:33:17.502 JOSIE CRUZ: THE ADDRESSES THAT WE GET ARE LOCATIONS THAT 00:33:17.605 --> 00:33:20.973 THEY'VE PREDICTED THAT WE HAVE NOT GOTTEN ANY 311 CALLS. 00:33:21.058 --> 00:33:24.643 THEY ARE PREDICTING TO ME HERE THERE'S GONNA BE RODENT ISSUES. 00:33:24.745 --> 00:33:26.395 SO, THAT'S WHY IT'S PREVENTIVE. 00:33:26.480 --> 00:33:29.231 WE'RE OUT THERE AHEAD OF IT TO SEE IF IT'S TRUE, AND GET TO 00:33:29.316 --> 00:33:31.783 IT BEFORE IT GETS TO BECOME A PROBLEM. 00:33:45.916 --> 00:33:48.800 WE HAD NOT HAD A COMPLAINT AT ALL HERE, SO BY THEM GIVING US 00:33:48.886 --> 00:33:50.969 THESE ADDRESSES, IT'S BASICALLY GETTING US A STEP 00:33:51.055 --> 00:33:53.005 AHEAD OF WHAT'S GOING ON HERE. 00:33:53.090 --> 00:33:55.390 AND SURE ENOUGH, THEY WERE RIGHT. 00:33:56.727 --> 00:33:58.710 JUAN GONZALEZ: WE'VE SEEN VARIOUS RAT HOLES THROUGHOUT 00:33:58.812 --> 00:34:02.514 THE ALLEY, ALONG WITH RAT DROPPINGS EVERYWHERE, SO 00:34:02.600 --> 00:34:05.601 THERE'S A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WILL TELL YOU THAT 00:34:05.686 --> 00:34:07.853 THERE'S RAT ACTIVITY GOING ON. 00:34:11.942 --> 00:34:14.226 JOSIE CRUZ: WITH OUR RODENTICIDE, THE RAT WILL DIE 00:34:14.328 --> 00:34:15.894 WITHIN THREE TO FOUR DAYS. 00:34:15.996 --> 00:34:19.665 AND THEY WILL DIE WHEREVER IT HITS THEM BASICALLY. 00:34:37.134 --> 00:34:38.684 I KIND OF THOUGHT, 00:34:38.769 --> 00:34:41.019 "REALLY? OFF A COMPUTER, YOU'RE GONNA TELL ME, YOU KNOW, THAT 00:34:41.105 --> 00:34:44.890 THERE'S A POSSIBILITY THAT THERE COULD BE RATS THERE?" 00:34:44.975 --> 00:34:47.392 BUT, YOU KNOW, I WAS VERY, VERY SURPRISED, 00:34:47.478 --> 00:34:48.560 AND VERY PLEASED. 00:34:48.646 --> 00:34:49.861 I'M VERY HAPPY THAT WE HAVE THIS GOING. 00:34:49.947 --> 00:34:50.896 I REALLY DO. 00:34:50.981 --> 00:34:52.648 IT HELPS ME TREMENDOUSLY. 00:35:02.076 --> 00:35:03.375 TOM SCHENK: IF WE CAN PREDICT EVERYTHING PERFECTLY, 00:35:03.460 --> 00:35:06.161 THAT'S JUST LUCK. 00:35:06.997 --> 00:35:08.780 IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING RIGHT ALL THE TIME. 00:35:08.882 --> 00:35:11.833 IT'S ABOUT BEING RIGHT MOST OF THE TIME. 00:35:14.922 --> 00:35:16.638 NARRATOR: MOST PEOPLE DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH STOPPING 00:35:16.757 --> 00:35:20.976 RAT INFESTATIONS OR ASTEROID STRIKES. 00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:23.262 BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THIS TECHNOLOGY DIGS INTO EVERY 00:35:23.364 --> 00:35:24.930 PART OF OUR LIVES? 00:35:26.066 --> 00:35:27.182 ERIC SIEGEL: SO WE'RE AT A REALLY INTERESTING TIME IN 00:35:27.268 --> 00:35:30.902 HISTORY NOW WHERE IT'S ONLY SLOWLY DAWNING ON MOST OF US 00:35:30.988 --> 00:35:33.605 AS CITIZENS JUST HOW MUCH INFORMATION ORGANIZATIONS, 00:35:33.691 --> 00:35:35.440 BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS, 00:35:35.542 --> 00:35:38.076 HAVE ABOUT US AS INDIVIDUALS. 00:35:38.162 --> 00:35:41.496 BECAUSE FOR THE MOST PART, THEY HAVE THE INCENTIVE TO 00:35:41.615 --> 00:35:44.166 NOT REALLY DIVULGE EXACTLY HOW MUCH THEY HAVE. 00:35:44.285 --> 00:35:46.084 IT'S SO VALUED TO THEM. 00:35:46.170 --> 00:35:48.670 IT'S SO VALUABLE TO THEM. 00:35:49.657 --> 00:35:50.822 NARRATOR: RIGHT NOW, CORPORATIONS CAN TRACK YOUR 00:35:50.924 --> 00:35:54.126 MOVEMENTS WITH CELLPHONES AND SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS, 00:35:54.228 --> 00:35:57.346 MONITOR YOUR SPENDING, AND RECORD EVERY KEYSTROKE 00:35:57.464 --> 00:35:59.631 YOU MAKE ON A COMPUTER. 00:35:59.717 --> 00:36:02.217 USUALLY, THEY USE THIS DATA TO TRY TO SELL YOU SOMETHING. 00:36:02.303 --> 00:36:05.554 BUT THE POWER OF PREDICTION GOES FAR BEYOND THAT. 00:36:05.639 --> 00:36:08.223 ERIC SIEGEL: THE THINGS THAT MATTER MOST, QUITTING A JOB, 00:36:08.309 --> 00:36:10.675 HOW YOU'LL PERFORM IF YOU'RE HIRED, WHETHER YOU'RE GONNA 00:36:10.778 --> 00:36:13.278 COMMIT A CRIME, WHETHER YOU'RE AT RISK OF COMMITTING 00:36:13.364 --> 00:36:15.314 AN ACT OF TERROR, WHETHER YOU'RE PREGNANT, 00:36:15.399 --> 00:36:16.982 THESE ARE ALL VERY POTENT THINGS. 00:36:17.067 --> 00:36:20.736 THEREFORE, THERE'S A LOT OF VALUE IN PREDICTING THEM, 00:36:20.821 --> 00:36:25.490 BUT THERE'S ALSO A REALLY HIGH RISK OF MISUSE. 00:36:26.710 --> 00:36:27.859 NARRATOR: THE FEAR OF USING COMPUTERS TO PREDICT THE 00:36:27.961 --> 00:36:32.914 FUTURE IS GREATEST WHEN IT COMES TO LAW ENFORCEMENT. 00:36:33.000 --> 00:36:36.201 IS IT POSSIBLE TO KNOW WHERE CRIMES WILL HAPPEN AND 00:36:36.303 --> 00:36:38.036 WHO WILL COMMIT THEM? 00:36:43.352 --> 00:36:45.820 NARRATOR: WHEN PHILIP K DICK PUBLISHED "MINORITY REPORT" IN 00:36:45.905 --> 00:36:49.857 1956, IT SEEMED OUTLANDISH, THAT IN THE FUTURE, 00:36:49.959 --> 00:36:53.527 WE WILL BE ABLE TO PREDICT CRIMES BEFORE THEY HAPPEN. 00:36:53.629 --> 00:36:58.666 BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO TODAY. 00:36:59.752 --> 00:37:01.869 COMPUTER PROGRAMS SEARCH SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS, 00:37:01.971 --> 00:37:05.639 CENSUS DATA, POLICE REPORTS, AND A VAST POOL OF PUBLIC AND 00:37:05.725 --> 00:37:08.375 PRIVATE RECORDS, LOOKING FOR PATTERNS THAT COULD ADD UP 00:37:08.478 --> 00:37:11.846 TO CRIMES ABOUT TO HAPPEN. 00:37:11.931 --> 00:37:14.231 IT'S CALLED "PREDICTIVE POLICING." 00:37:17.687 --> 00:37:20.688 CRITICS SAY PREDICTIVE POLICING IS INHERENTLY FLAWED, 00:37:20.773 --> 00:37:23.991 BECAUSE IT RISKS LABELING INNOCENT PEOPLE AS CRIMINALS . 00:37:24.076 --> 00:37:26.827 IT INADVERTENTLY TARGETS MINORITIES AND 00:37:26.913 --> 00:37:30.865 IT JUDGES YOU ON YOUR PAST, NOT WHO YOU ARE TODAY. 00:37:34.370 --> 00:37:36.837 BUT PROFESSOR JOEL CAPLAN BELIEVES WE CAN GET THE 00:37:36.923 --> 00:37:40.958 BENEFITS OF PREDICTIVE POLICING WITHOUT THE BIAS. 00:37:41.043 --> 00:37:42.343 PROF. JOEL CAPLAN: I THINK I'VE ALWAYS BEEN FASCINATED 00:37:42.428 --> 00:37:44.762 BY SPACES, AND THE CONCEPT OF SPACE, 00:37:44.881 --> 00:37:47.681 WHETHER IT'S BLACK HOLES OR, YOU KNOW, THE SPACE 00:37:47.767 --> 00:37:49.683 OF A PERSON'S LOCAL ENVIRONMENT. 00:37:49.769 --> 00:37:52.186 AND I'VE ALSO BEEN INTERESTED IN PUBLIC SAFETY, AND LAW 00:37:52.271 --> 00:37:55.222 ENFORCEMENT, AND POLICING, AND THE FACT THAT PUBLIC SAFETY 00:37:55.308 --> 00:37:58.425 AFFECTS AND INFLUENCES OUR LIVES ON A REGULAR BASIS, 00:37:58.528 --> 00:38:00.194 WHETHER WE KNOW IT OR NOT. 00:38:07.403 --> 00:38:09.537 CHIEF HENRY M WHITE JR.: WELL, I CAN TELL YOU WHAT'S 00:38:09.622 --> 00:38:10.654 UNIQUE ABOUT ATLANTIC CITY. 00:38:10.740 --> 00:38:12.122 IT'S UNLIKE ANY OTHER CITY. 00:38:12.241 --> 00:38:15.659 THIS IS A TOWN THAT'S CONSTANTLY CHANGING ON A DAILY BASIS. 00:38:18.948 --> 00:38:22.666 WE ONLY HAVE APPROXIMATELY 40,000 YEAR-ROUND RESIDENTS. 00:38:22.752 --> 00:38:26.787 BUT WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY 24 MILLION VISITORS EVERY YEAR. 00:38:26.889 --> 00:38:30.123 AND EACH VISITOR BRINGS THEIR OWN SET OF ISSUES. 00:38:30.226 --> 00:38:33.594 ROBBERIES, SHOOTINGS, AGGRESSIVE BEGGING, DRINKING 00:38:33.679 --> 00:38:36.981 IN PUBLIC, SLEEPING IN PUBLIC. 00:38:45.942 --> 00:38:48.025 SO EACH AND EVERY DAY, ATLANTIC CITY IS CONSTANTLY 00:38:48.110 --> 00:38:51.912 EVOLVING WITH A TOTALLY DIFFERENT POPULATION SEGMENT. 00:38:55.334 --> 00:38:57.701 WE'RE JUST NOW GETTING INVOLVED WITH A SORT OF 00:38:57.787 --> 00:38:59.753 FORM OF PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS TO PREVENT CRIME 00:38:59.839 --> 00:39:02.373 HERE IN ATLANTIC CITY. 00:39:02.458 --> 00:39:05.226 AND THEN THE PROGRAM IS CALLED RISK TERRAIN MODELING. 00:39:10.466 --> 00:39:13.767 PROF. JOEL CAPLAN: RISK TERRAIN MODELING WAS DEVELOPED 00:39:13.853 --> 00:39:16.937 BY DR. LES KENNEDY AND I AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY, AND 00:39:17.023 --> 00:39:20.307 IT'S A METHOD OF SPATIAL RISK ANALYSIS THAT DIAGNOSES 00:39:20.393 --> 00:39:24.845 FEATURES OF THE LANDSCAPE AND HOW THEY INTERACT AND OVERLAP 00:39:24.947 --> 00:39:27.197 TO CREATE UNIQUE BEHAVIOR SETTINGS FOR CRIME. 00:39:29.201 --> 00:39:30.851 CAPT. JAMES SARKOS: SO, WHAT WE LIKE A LOT ABOUT RISK TERRAIN 00:39:30.953 --> 00:39:32.352 MODELING IS THAT IT FOCUSES ON PLACES AND 00:39:32.455 --> 00:39:33.654 NOT NECESSARILY PEOPLE. 00:39:33.739 --> 00:39:35.656 THE BEST WAY TO JUDGE, IF WE'RE DOING A GOOD JOB AS 00:39:35.741 --> 00:39:38.158 POLICE OFFICERS, IS NOT BY HOW MANY ARRESTS WE MAKE. 00:39:38.244 --> 00:39:40.160 ALTHOUGH, A LOT OF TIMES, IT SEEMS LIKE PEOPLE DO JUDGE US 00:39:40.246 --> 00:39:42.663 BY THAT, BUT WE WANNA BE JUDGED BY PREVENTING CRIME. 00:39:42.748 --> 00:39:45.082 THAT'S OUR ULTIMATE GOAL, IS THE PREVENTION OF CRIME. 00:39:45.167 --> 00:39:46.467 IN THE END, WE DON'T WANNA MAKE AN ARREST IF 00:39:46.552 --> 00:39:47.868 WE DON'T HAVE TO. 00:39:47.970 --> 00:39:49.970 WE'D RATHER THE CRIME NEVER OCCURRED TO BEGIN WITH. 00:39:50.673 --> 00:39:51.722 PROF. JOEL CAPLAN: CRIME ISN'T RANDOM. 00:39:51.841 --> 00:39:55.342 AND CRIME OCCURS VERY FREQUENTLY AT CERTAIN PLACES. 00:39:55.428 --> 00:39:58.729 AND IF WE DON'T FOCUS ON THE PLACES, WE'RE NOT GOING 00:39:58.848 --> 00:40:02.316 TO CHANGE THE ATTRACTIVE QUALITIES OF THOSE LOCATIONS. 00:40:03.819 --> 00:40:06.287 IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY PEOPLE WE ARREST, 00:40:06.389 --> 00:40:08.739 IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY PEOPLE AGE OUT OF CRIME, 00:40:08.858 --> 00:40:10.691 AND IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY POTENTIAL VICTIMS 00:40:10.776 --> 00:40:12.943 WE WARN TO PROTECT THEMSELVES. 00:40:13.029 --> 00:40:17.731 IF THE PLACE ISN'T CHANGED, IT WILL CONSTANTLY ATTRACT 00:40:17.833 --> 00:40:19.900 SIMILAR BEHAVIOR AS IT DID BEFORE. 00:40:21.253 --> 00:40:23.070 NARRATOR: WORKING WITH ATLANTIC CITY POLICE, 00:40:23.172 --> 00:40:25.372 CAPLAN GATHERED DATA ABOUT THE PLACES WHERE 00:40:25.458 --> 00:40:28.676 MAJOR CRIMES HAD OCCURRED. 00:40:28.761 --> 00:40:31.345 THE DATA WAS MATCHED TO GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION 00:40:31.430 --> 00:40:33.347 TAKEN FROM GOOGLE MAPS. 00:40:33.432 --> 00:40:37.417 THEN HIS ALGORITHM LOOKED FOR PATTERNS, HOT SPOTS FOR CRIME. 00:40:37.520 --> 00:40:39.803 PROF. JOEL CAPLAN: THESE WERE IDENTIFIED AS THE PHASE ONE 00:40:39.889 --> 00:40:42.473 TARGET AREAS FOR THE INITIAL ROLLOUT OF THE 00:40:42.558 --> 00:40:44.124 RISK-BASED POLICING INITIATIVE. 00:40:44.226 --> 00:40:47.361 IF WE WERE TO FOCUS ON THE TOP FIVE PERCENT OF THE 00:40:47.446 --> 00:40:51.065 HIGHEST-RISK PLACES IDENTIFIED BY THE RISK TERRAIN MODEL, 00:40:51.150 --> 00:40:53.784 WE WOULD ACCOUNT FOR 45% OF ALL 00:40:53.903 --> 00:40:56.904 THE SHOOTING INCIDENTS IN 2015. 00:40:58.124 --> 00:41:00.124 NARRATOR: SOMETIMES, THE SYSTEM IDENTIFIED PLACES THE 00:41:00.242 --> 00:41:03.377 POLICE ALREADY KNEW ATTRACTED CRIME, SUCH AS CONVENIENCE 00:41:03.462 --> 00:41:07.131 STORES AND VACANT PROPERTIES. 00:41:08.517 --> 00:41:12.052 BUT LAUNDROMATS ALSO CAME UP AS PROBLEM ZONES. 00:41:13.172 --> 00:41:14.888 PROF. JOEL CAPLAN: WE'VE TESTED ROBBERY FOR EXAMPLE 00:41:14.974 --> 00:41:17.558 IN NEWARK, KANSAS CITY, AND CHICAGO. 00:41:17.643 --> 00:41:21.145 AND WHILE THE CRIME TYPE IS THE SAME, AND WHILE THE CRIMES 00:41:21.263 --> 00:41:25.315 CLUSTER ACROSS JURISDICTIONS CREATING HOT SPOTS OF CRIME, 00:41:25.434 --> 00:41:28.936 THE RISK FACTORS THAT CREATE THE CONTEXTS FOR ROBBERY ARE 00:41:29.021 --> 00:41:32.189 VERY DIFFERENT IN EACH ONE OF THESE SETTINGS. 00:41:32.274 --> 00:41:37.111 AND, FOR EXAMPLE, BARS ARE NOT A SIGNIFICANT RISK FACTOR FOR 00:41:37.196 --> 00:41:40.814 ROBBERY IN KANSAS CITY, WHILE THEY ARE A SIGNIFICANT 00:41:40.916 --> 00:41:44.084 RISK FACTOR IN NEWARK AND CHICAGO. 00:41:44.170 --> 00:41:48.455 AND IT'S THAT REALIZATION THAT THINGS THAT WE MIGHT HAVE KIND 00:41:48.541 --> 00:41:53.927 OF INTUITIVELY ASSUMED TO BE CREATING CONTEXT FOR CRIME ARE 00:41:54.013 --> 00:41:56.346 NOT IN FACT CORRELATED AT ALL. 00:41:58.350 --> 00:42:00.467 NARRATOR: THE IDEA IS TO MANAGE THE RISK PRESENTED BY 00:42:00.553 --> 00:42:02.970 CERTAIN PLACES, WITHOUT ASSUMING THE PEOPLE 00:42:03.055 --> 00:42:05.556 IN THOSE PLACES ARE CRIMINALS. 00:42:05.641 --> 00:42:07.024 CAPT. JAMES SARKOS: IF I'M AN INDIVIDUAL WHO JUST HAPPENS 00:42:07.143 --> 00:42:09.943 TO LIVE IN AN AREA THAT WE'VE DEEMED TO BE A HOTSPOT, 00:42:10.029 --> 00:42:11.645 I SHOULDN'T BE STOPPED BY THE POLICE EVERY TIME I WALK INTO 00:42:11.731 --> 00:42:13.113 THE DOOR OF MY HOUSE. 00:42:13.199 --> 00:42:14.648 AND THAT'S WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT THIS PROGRAM 00:42:14.734 --> 00:42:15.949 IS WE DON'T DO THAT. 00:42:16.035 --> 00:42:17.818 WE IDENTIFY THE AREA AND THEN WE TRY TO ADDRESS THE 00:42:17.903 --> 00:42:21.321 GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES OF THAT AREA TO IMPROVE CRIME. 00:42:31.500 --> 00:42:34.084 IT MIGHT EVEN BE NOT THAT SOMETHING PARTICULAR IS THERE, 00:42:34.170 --> 00:42:35.586 BUT MAYBE SOMETHING'S MISSING. 00:42:35.671 --> 00:42:38.555 FOR EXAMPLE, IT MIGHT BE AN AREA THAT DOES NOT HAVE A 00:42:38.674 --> 00:42:39.973 CLEAR LINE OF SIGHT. 00:42:40.059 --> 00:42:41.175 IT MIGHT BE THAT THAT AREA DOES NOT HAVE ANY SECURITY 00:42:41.260 --> 00:42:43.594 CAMERAS, SO PEOPLE FEEL COMFORTABLE COMMITTING A CRIME 00:42:43.679 --> 00:42:46.263 THERE BECAUSE THEY THINK THEY'RE GONNA GO GET AWAY WITH IT. 00:42:47.183 --> 00:42:48.515 NARRATOR: BUT THE TRULY PREDICTIVE PART OF THE PROCESS 00:42:48.601 --> 00:42:51.018 IS WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE POLICE CLEAN UP 00:42:51.103 --> 00:42:53.386 THE ZONES OF HIGHEST RISK. 00:42:53.489 --> 00:42:56.657 BECAUSE THE MAP NOT ONLY SHOWS WHERE CRIME IS, 00:42:56.742 --> 00:42:59.159 IT PREDICTS WHERE IT WILL GO. 00:43:00.029 --> 00:43:01.361 CAPT. JAMES SARKOS: "WHACK-A-MOLE" IS A TERM THAT 00:43:01.447 --> 00:43:03.080 SOMETIMES POLICE OFFICERS FEEL LIKE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING. 00:43:03.199 --> 00:43:05.032 WE'RE PLAYING WHACK-A-MOLE WHERE WE HIT A PERSON HERE AND THEN 00:43:05.117 --> 00:43:06.366 CRIME POPS UP OVER THERE, 00:43:06.452 --> 00:43:08.118 AND YOU'RE JUST CONSTANTLY READJUSTING. 00:43:08.204 --> 00:43:10.070 SO THIS IS TRYING TO GET US AHEAD OF WHACK-A-MOLE, 00:43:10.172 --> 00:43:11.922 SO THAT WE DON'T, WE'RE NOT ALWAYS REACTING. 00:43:12.041 --> 00:43:13.290 WE WANNA BE AHEAD OF THAT. 00:43:13.375 --> 00:43:15.459 WE DON'T WANNA REACT, WE WANNA BE RESPONDING BEFORE 00:43:15.544 --> 00:43:17.878 WE HAD TO REACT. 00:43:25.855 --> 00:43:27.387 PROF. JOEL CAPLAN: WE'VE APPLIED THIS TO CRIME, 00:43:27.473 --> 00:43:31.424 ROBBERY, SHOOTINGS, BURGLARY, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, 00:43:31.527 --> 00:43:36.029 MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT, AND A NUMBER OF OTHER CRIME TYPES. 00:43:42.905 --> 00:43:45.038 BUT WE'VE ALSO MADE RISK TERRAIN MODELING FREE. 00:43:45.124 --> 00:43:46.540 RESEARCHERS HAVE DOWNLOADED IT AND 00:43:46.625 --> 00:43:50.127 UTILIZED THE FREE RESOURCES TO STUDY MARITIME SHIPPING, 00:43:50.246 --> 00:43:52.445 LOOKING AT PIRACY ON THE EARTH'S OCEANS. 00:43:52.548 --> 00:43:57.668 TO LOOK AT CHILD ABUSE, AND CHILD DROWNINGS AND SUICIDE. 00:43:57.753 --> 00:44:01.171 IT'S BEEN USED IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, 00:44:01.257 --> 00:44:03.757 POLLUTION CONTROL, URBAN PLANNING. 00:44:03.843 --> 00:44:05.192 THE LIST GOES ON. 00:44:05.294 --> 00:44:10.013 AND IT'S BASICALLY A TOOL THAT COULD APPLY TO ANY OUTCOME, 00:44:10.099 --> 00:44:13.934 AS LONG AS THE OUTCOME HAS A SPATIAL CHARACTERISTIC. 00:44:23.329 --> 00:44:24.912 NARRATOR: THE RISK TERRAIN MODEL 00:44:24.997 --> 00:44:27.865 ONLY LOOKS AT PLACES, NOT PEOPLE. 00:44:27.950 --> 00:44:31.118 THERE IS A REASON FOR THIS BEYOND BIAS. 00:44:31.220 --> 00:44:34.288 OUR NEW ELECTRONICALLY-ENHANCED FORTUNE TELLERS RISK BEING 00:44:34.373 --> 00:44:37.490 OVERWHELMED BY ALL THE DATA POURING IN. 00:44:37.593 --> 00:44:39.092 MARY BETH GERHARDT: THERE IS AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF DATA 00:44:39.178 --> 00:44:40.177 THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH. 00:44:40.296 --> 00:44:42.296 AND IT CAN GO ON AND ON BECAUSE THE MODELS 00:44:42.381 --> 00:44:44.932 THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, THEY'RE TAKING INTO 00:44:45.017 --> 00:44:46.300 ACCOUNT OBSERVATIONAL DATA, 00:44:46.385 --> 00:44:48.435 THEY'RE TAKING INTO ACCOUNT SATELLITE DATA. 00:44:48.520 --> 00:44:50.103 IT'S REALLY ENDLESS. 00:44:50.189 --> 00:44:52.139 TOM SCHENK: IF YOU ALWAYS JUST TRY TO THROW IN EVERYTHING, 00:44:52.224 --> 00:44:53.106 YOU'RE GONNA GET A LOT OF NOISE. 00:44:53.192 --> 00:44:55.225 THINGS THAT DON'T MAKE SENSE. 00:44:58.314 --> 00:44:59.563 NATE SILVER: WE CAN GET OVERWHELMED 00:44:59.648 --> 00:45:02.149 WITH DATA PRETTY EASILY. 00:45:05.154 --> 00:45:06.653 BRENNA BERMAN: I DON'T THINK THERE'S SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH 00:45:06.739 --> 00:45:08.872 DATA, BUT WHEN YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT HOW MUCH DATA YOU REALLY 00:45:08.991 --> 00:45:12.359 WANNA BE RESPONSIBLE FOR, YOU NEED TO THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT 00:45:12.461 --> 00:45:14.995 WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO USE THE DATA FOR, WHAT VALUE IT CAN 00:45:15.080 --> 00:45:18.248 BRING TO THE CLIENTS OR THE RESIDENTS THAT YOU SERVE, 00:45:18.334 --> 00:45:19.917 AND THE LENGTHS THAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO TO TO 00:45:20.002 --> 00:45:22.536 PROPERLY MANAGE AND PROTECT THAT DATA. 00:45:25.257 --> 00:45:27.808 NARRATOR: IN OUR EFFORT TO MAKE THINGS EASIER, FASTER, 00:45:27.893 --> 00:45:31.094 AND MORE EFFICIENT, WE HAVE GIVEN BIRTH TO A POWERFUL 00:45:31.180 --> 00:45:34.381 TECHNOLOGY WE MAY NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND. 00:45:34.483 --> 00:45:35.432 NATE SILVER: WHEN PEOPLE START TO SAY, 00:45:35.517 --> 00:45:38.885 "WELL, THE COMPUTER HAS A MIND OF ITS OWN," 00:45:38.988 --> 00:45:40.687 THAT'S WHEN I GET WORRIED, RIGHT? 00:45:40.773 --> 00:45:43.824 BUT IF YOU GENERALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY A COMPUTER 00:45:43.909 --> 00:45:48.612 PROGRAM DOES WHAT IT DOES, THEN THAT'S VERY DANGEROUS. 00:45:53.919 --> 00:45:56.119 ERIC SIEGEL: "WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY." 00:45:56.205 --> 00:45:59.089 THAT'S FROM SPIDERMAN. 00:46:01.043 --> 00:46:02.876 THIS STUFF IS POWERFUL. 00:46:02.962 --> 00:46:05.595 IT'S NOT GOING TO BE UNIVERSALLY INDICTED. 00:46:05.714 --> 00:46:08.181 YOU CAN'T JUST TURN IT OFF. 00:46:10.719 --> 00:46:12.219 IT'S TOO VALUABLE. 00:46:12.304 --> 00:46:15.689 IT'S HELPING TOO MANY PEOPLE, AS WELL AS ORGANIZATIONS WITH 00:46:15.774 --> 00:46:17.090 TOO MUCH INTENSITY. 00:46:17.192 --> 00:46:18.608 IT'S NOT GOING AWAY. 00:46:18.727 --> 00:46:20.560 IT'S LIKE A KNIFE, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN USE A KNIFE IN A GOOD 00:46:20.646 --> 00:46:24.564 WAY, YOU CAN USE A KNIFE IN A BAD WAY, NOBODY'S GOING TO 00:46:24.650 --> 00:46:27.117 OUTLAW KNIVES IN GENERAL. 00:46:29.538 --> 00:46:31.655 NARRATOR: WE BUILT PREDICTIVE MACHINES TO REDUCE THE 00:46:31.740 --> 00:46:35.275 UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE. 00:46:35.377 --> 00:46:37.160 BUT THE COMPLETE PICTURE OF THE FUTURE 00:46:37.246 --> 00:46:41.331 MAY ALWAYS BE UNKNOWABLE. 00:46:42.334 --> 00:46:46.303 EVEN FOR PROPHETS AND SEERS, HUMAN OR MACHINE, 00:46:46.422 --> 00:46:48.472 LIFE IS FULL OF SURPRISES.