# The Means of Prediction - Lecture Slides

This directory contains a Quarto presentation based on "The Means of Prediction: How AI Really Works (and Who Benefits)" by Maximilian Kasy (2025).

## Files Included

1. **lecture_slides.qmd** - Main Quarto presentation file
2. **custom.css** - Custom styling for the presentation
3. **lecture_slides_notes.md** - Detailed slide notes (original markdown format)

## How to Render the Presentation

### Prerequisites

Install Quarto from: https://quarto.org/docs/get-started/

### Rendering Options

**Option 1: HTML Slides (RevealJS)**
```bash
quarto render lecture_slides.qmd
```

This creates an HTML presentation you can view in any web browser.

**Option 2: PDF**
```bash
quarto render lecture_slides.qmd --to pdf
```

**Option 3: PowerPoint**
```bash
quarto render lecture_slides.qmd --to pptx
```

### Viewing the Presentation

After rendering, open the generated HTML file in your browser. The presentation includes:

- Slide transitions
- Incremental reveals (press spacebar/arrow keys)
- Built-in chalkboard for annotations (press 'c')
- Speaker notes view (press 's')
- Overview mode (press 'o')

### Presentation Controls

- **Arrow keys / Space**: Navigate slides
- **'f'**: Fullscreen mode
- **'s'**: Speaker notes view
- **'o'**: Overview/grid view of all slides
- **'c'**: Toggle chalkboard for drawing
- **'?'**: Help/keyboard shortcuts

## Customization

### Changing Theme

Edit the YAML header in `lecture_slides.qmd`:

```yaml
format:
  revealjs:
    theme: [simple, moon, sky, serif, etc.]
```

Available themes: simple, dark, black, white, league, sky, beige, serif, blood, moon, night, solarized

### Modifying Styles

Edit `custom.css` to change:
- Colors
- Font sizes
- Spacing
- Layout

### Adding Content

The presentation uses standard Quarto/Markdown syntax:

- `##` for new slides
- `###` for subheadings within slides
- `:::` for special div classes
- `.incremental` for step-by-step reveals
- `.smaller` for reduced font size
- `.center` for centered content

## Structure

The presentation contains 44 slides covering:

1. **Introduction** (Slides 1-5)
   - The dominant narrative and what it misses
   - Defining AI

2. **How AI Works** (Slides 6-12)
   - Means of prediction
   - Machine learning basics
   - Supervised learning
   - Neural networks
   - Exploration/exploitation

3. **Political Economy** (Slides 13-19)
   - Social welfare framework
   - Agents of change
   - Ideological obfuscation
   - Value alignment

4. **Governance Issues** (Slides 20-26)
   - Privacy
   - Automation
   - Fairness vs. welfare
   - Explainability
   - Limits of technical solutions

5. **Democratic Alternatives** (Slides 27-31)
   - Forms of democratic governance
   - Mechanisms for control
   - Concrete examples

6. **Conclusion** (Slides 32-44)
   - Addressing objections
   - Summary
   - Discussion questions
   - Key takeaways
   - Further reading

## Tips for Presenting

1. **Use incremental reveals** - Already built into many slides with `. . .` markers
2. **Practice transitions** - The flow is designed to build arguments progressively
3. **Engage with examples** - Each slide has concrete examples to discuss
4. **Use discussion questions** - Slide 38 has questions for audience engagement
5. **Leverage the chalkboard** - Press 'c' to annotate slides during presentation

## Export Options

If you need static versions:

```bash
# PDF (requires LaTeX)
quarto render lecture_slides.qmd --to pdf

# PowerPoint (requires Pandoc)
quarto render lecture_slides.qmd --to pptx

# HTML with self-contained resources
quarto render lecture_slides.qmd --embed-resources
```

## Additional Resources

- **Quarto Documentation**: https://quarto.org/docs/presentations/revealjs/
- **RevealJS Features**: https://revealjs.com/
- **Original Book**: University of Chicago Press, 2025

## License

This presentation is based on publicly available information from the book. Please cite:

> Kasy, Maximilian. *The Means of Prediction: How AI Really Works (and Who Benefits)*. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2025.

## Support

For Quarto issues: https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/issues
For RevealJS issues: https://github.com/hakimel/reveal.js/issues