Forecasting & prediction

Former CIA agent says terror attacks can be predicted using technology that forecasts the future

A ex-CIA agent has claimed his fortune telling software could have predicted the Paris terror attacks and is capable of foretelling other major world events including wars and financial collapses.

Jim Shinn, a former intelligence officer and Princeton lecturer, runs a company called PreData, which gathers data from the internet and social media to make predictions about the future.

The firm was set up to allow customers to gauge the outcome of global events or movements in the financial markets.

But Shinn was "surprised" to see that the system could also accurately forecast terrorist atrocities.