ISU Lecture Series: Risk, Statistics, and the Future Use of AI
Friday, Sep 12, 2025
6:00 pm
Great Hall, Memorial Union
Speaker: Nate Silver
Description: Nate Silver is the leading political forecaster whose statistics-driven approach is unparalleled in its accuracy to predict election outcomes. He first gained national attention during the 2008 presidential election when he correctly predicted the results of the primaries, and the presidential winner in 49 states. In 2012, he called 50 of 50 states.
A pioneer in the field of data journalism, Mr. Silver publishes his insights and statistical assessments of cultural phenomena on his popular Substack, “Silver Bulletin,” which has nearly a quarter million subscribers. Mr. Silver founded the award-winning FiveThirtyEight website and served as its editor-in-chief until 2023.
Mr. Silver has written two books, “On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything” (2024) and “The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail—But Some Don’t” (2012).
The University Book Store will be onsite selling “On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything” at the event.