We’ve gone from "this is too ghoulish to exist" in 2003 to "this is the new wisdom-of-crowds infrastructure" in 2026. And it's a symptom of how we, all of us, are coming apart.

Prediction markets are, I think, the clearest single sign that our civilisation has entered a late and decadent stage.

https://www.joanwestenberg.com/why-prediction-markets-are-a-sure-sign-that-our-civilisation-is-in-decay/

Why prediction markets are a sure sign that our civilisation is in decay

Prediction markets are the clearest single sign our civilisation has entered a late and decadent stage. The reason isn't that they're new or sinister. It's that the case for them is defensible, the technology works, the outputs are useful, but the long-term effect is corrosive anyway.

Westenberg.

@Daojoan

I have another argument: who bets on these markets⁉️ I don't bet❗ I hate casinos and gambling, so from whom are these aggregated predictions❓ The risk takers, the people who have no qualms about everything you have argued here. People that know the price of everything but the value of nothing. Maybe not the helpers, not the people that make an actual difference in the world.

@Daojoan

Oops, I now think you actually made this argument in the 'Who Benefits' section.