Regime change at the FDA is not beyond the realm of reason.
Predictor: Alex Wissner-Gross · ep#248 "Sam Altman's Attack, Amazon vs. Starlink, and What Opus 4.7 Actually Means | #248" · source
Prediction text
Regime change at the FDA is not beyond the realm of reason. | we're going to see this type of story I think more and more frequently until some sort of regime change at the FDA which also is not beyond the realm of reason.
Verbatim quote
we're going to see this type of story I think more and more frequently until some sort of regime change at the FDA which also is not beyond the realm of reason.
Predictor: Alex Wissner-Gross
Calibration plot (stated vs observed)
Evidence about this node from Alex Wissner-Gross is multiplied by κ in /api/intake. Lower κ = less weight; floors at 0.10 (effectively silenced) and caps at 1.00 (full weight).
Reference class: fda_breakthrough_label
FDA breakthrough designation → approval within 4 years
Tetlock-style outside view: at TRF=1 (just predicted), outside view dominates (w_in=0.3). At TRF=0 (deadline), inside view dominates (w_in=1.0). The blend regularizes overconfident inside views toward the historical base rate.
Probability over time
Milestone chain
- 2026-05-01 → 2026-06-22overdueFDA Commissioner Makary departure, replacement, or announced leaveHow: HHS or White House announces resignation, removal, or extended leave of FDA Commissioner Marty MakarySource: BioPharma Dive turnover reporting; InsideHealthPolicyconf 20%
- 2026-05-01 → 2026-06-22overdueRFK Jr override of FDA decision becomes public or formalHow: HHS Secretary Kennedy publicly reverses or directs FDA decision in writing, contradicting Makary public stanceSource: BioSpace; Boston Globe Apr 23 2026conf 50%
- 2026-05-01 → 2026-09-30pendingMajor FDA reorganization or RIF (reduction in force) announcementHow: Federal Register or HHS announcement of FDA org-chart restructure, large-scale layoffs, or center consolidationSource: InsideHealthPolicy; NBC News RFK Jr changesconf 40%
- 2026-05-01 → 2026-12-31pendingCongressional hearing or bipartisan letter calls for FDA reformHow: Senate HELP or House E&C committee schedules hearing or issues formal letter on FDA leadership/integrity post Sarepta and cancer-drug rejectionsSource: newrepublic Sarepta/cancer-drug backlashconf 45%
- 2026-07-01 → 2027-06-30pendingPharma industry lobbying for FDA leadership change escalates publiclyHow: PhRMA, BIO, or top-5 pharma CEO publicly calls for FDA leadership change or reorganization in earnings call, op-ed, or filingSource: post-event industry cascadeconf 30%
What if this resolves?
Click a button to clamp this prediction and run a Gibbs sample. Returns the predictions whose marginals shift most. ~30s per run; ideal for stress-testing "if X resolves, what else moves?"
Evidence chain
Raw metadata
{
"trf": 0.8646529159546616,
"kappa": 0.8438,
"base_rate": 0.39,
"predictor": "Alex Wissner-Gross",
"total_llr": -0.8109302162163288,
"grace_days": 7,
"bayesian_v2": true,
"prior_logit": -0.6546186743061896,
"bayes_factor": "1.3:1 against",
"blend_reason": "blend 39% inside / 60% outside (TRF=0.865, base_rate=0.390 from fda_breakthrough_label)",
"inside_prior": 0.34194948570078154,
"kappa_source": "predictor_table",
"n_milestones": 2,
"blend_applied": true,
"contributions": [
{
"llr": -0.4054651081081644,
"kind": "llm_pre_event",
"kappa": 0.16876000000000002,
"label": "FDA Commissioner Makary departure, replacement, or announced leave",
"weight": 0.4,
"strength": "weak",
"confidence": 0.2,
"source_url": "https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/fda-after-turbulent-year-leaves-drugmakers-guessing-on-its-direction/815482/",
"adjusted_llr": -0.06842629164433384,
"expected_date": "2026-05-27",
"measurement_criterion": "HHS or White House announces resignation, removal, or extended leave of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary"
},
{
"llr": -0.4054651081081644,
"kind": "llm_pre_event",
"kappa": 0.4219,
"label": "RFK Jr override of FDA decision becomes public or formal",
"weight": 0.4,
"strength": "weak",
"confidence": 0.5,
"source_url": "https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/23/newsletters/biotech-rfk-fda-drug-approvals/",
"adjusted_llr": -0.17106572911083456,
"expected_date": "2026-05-27",
"measurement_criterion": "HHS Secretary Kennedy publicly reverses or directs FDA decision in writing, contradicting Makary public stance"
}
],
"evidence_kind": "metadata_milestone_miss_sweep",
"inside_source": "history_v2",
"inside_weight": 0.3947429588317368,
"outside_weight": 0.6052570411682632,
"posterior_prob": 0.3489443267506783,
"posterior_logit": -0.894110695061358,
"predictor_brier": 0.03413,
"inside_posterior": 0.2902622532675743,
"blended_posterior": 0.3489443267506783,
"reference_class_id": "fda_breakthrough_label",
"total_adjusted_llr": -0.2394920207551684,
"predictor_n_resolved": 11
}Network propagation neighbors
Top incoming (parents)
Edges that influence THIS node's belief
| Kind | Node | Their prob | P(c|s=T) | P(c|s=F) | Δ implied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| prereq | 234_012 Anthropic revenue will cross OpenAI revenue in middle of 202 — Peter Diamandis | 67.1% | 0.400 | 0.050 | -0.066 |
| prereq | SEM_042 2025 will be the definitive year that agentic systems finall — Kevin Weil | 73.8% | 0.400 | 0.050 | -0.044 |
| prereq | SEM_012 Nvidia quadrupled chip production output while only doubling — Jensen Huang | 75.0% | 0.400 | 0.050 | -0.039 |
| prereq | SEM_008 Training runs costing $10 billion for a single model will co — Dario Amodei | 76.9% | 0.400 | 0.050 | -0.033 |
| prereq | 238_009 Recursive self-improvement is already happening now (no long — Alex Wissner-Gross | 78.1% | 0.400 | 0.050 | -0.029 |
Top outgoing (children)
Predictions THIS node influences
| Kind | Node | Their prob | P(c|s=T) | P(c|s=F) | Δ implied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| prereq | 231_013 Math is cooked (will be solved), physics cooked, biology cha — Alex Wissner-Gross | 35.4% | 0.620 | 0.050 | -0.111 |
| prereq | 241_043 ASI will arrive within 2 years to 5 years to this next decad — Peter Diamandis | 35.9% | 0.650 | 0.050 | -0.105 |
| prereq | 235_030 Ray Kurzweil predicts Longevity Escape Velocity (LEV) by 203 — Ray Kurzweil | 39.2% | 0.750 | 0.050 | -0.105 |
| prereq | CMQ_002 By 2028, AI systems will reach 'independent researcher' leve — Sam Altman | 31.4% | 0.550 | 0.050 | -0.094 |
| prereq | 232_055 We're exiting the industrial age permanently as recursive se — Peter Diamandis | 35.5% | 0.700 | 0.050 | -0.084 |
Ticker exposure
Beneficiaries (23)
Adverse (6)
Prerequisites (8)
| Type | Pred | Title | Domain | Lag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| prereq | SEM_008 | Training runs costing $10 billion for a single model will commence sometime in 2025. | AI | — |
| prereq | 238_009 | Recursive self-improvement is already happening now (no longer three years out) | AI | — |
| prereq | 234_012 | Anthropic revenue will cross OpenAI revenue in middle of 2026 | Markets/Stocks | — |
| prereq | SEM_012 | Nvidia quadrupled chip production output while only doubling human headcount — achieved by deploying AI coding tools (Cursor, Claude Code) across engineering. | AI/Manufacturing | — |
| prereq | SEM_042 | 2025 will be the definitive year that agentic systems finally hit the mainstream. | AI/Agents | — |
| killer | TK14 | Superbubble Pop (S&P 500 -40%, Moonshot Capital Evaporates) | — | — |
| killer | TK01 | AGI Capability Plateau (2026-27 Training Stall) | — | — |
| killer | TK03 | AI Regulatory Moratorium (EU/US Capability Freeze) | — | — |
Dependents (5)
| Type | Pred | Title | Domain | Lag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| prereq | 235_030 | Ray Kurzweil predicts Longevity Escape Velocity (LEV) by 2033. | Biotech/Longevity | — |
| prereq | 232_055 | We're exiting the industrial age permanently as recursive self-improvement unfolds. | AI | — |
| prereq | 241_043 | ASI will arrive within 2 years to 5 years to this next decade | AI | — |
| prereq | 231_013 | Math is cooked (will be solved), physics cooked, biology char broiled. | AI | — |
| prereq | CMQ_002 | By 2028, AI systems will reach 'independent researcher' level — driving autonomous scientific discoveries without human intervention. | AI | — |
Linked documents (10)
| Sim | Source | Title | Market prob | Polarity | Reviewed | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.583 | fda | FDA ANDA213267: THALIDOMIDE (THALIDOMIDE) — NATCO | — | mentions | pending | 2026-04-24 |
| 0.575 | fda | FDA ANDA219072: CARBAMAZEPINE (CARBAMAZEPINE) — YICHANG HUMANWELL | — | mentions | pending | 2026-04-17 |
| 0.565 | fda | FDA ANDA209956: POMALIDOMIDE (POMALIDOMIDE) — TEVA PHARMS USA | — | mentions | pending | 2026-04-27 |
| 0.563 | fda | FDA ANDA205571: CARBAMAZEPINE (CARBAMAZEPINE) — ZYDUS PHARMS | — | mentions | pending | 2026-04-29 |
| 0.561 | fda | FDA ANDA211417: LEVOTHYROXINE SODIUM (LEVOTHYROXINE SODIUM) — MACLEODS PHARMS LTD | — | mentions | pending | 2026-05-15 |
| 0.560 | polymarket | Miguel Díaz-Canel out as leader of Cuba by December 31? | 60% | mentions | pending | 2026-01-05 |
| 0.560 | fda | FDA NDA018569: FUROSEMIDE (FUROSEMIDE) — EPIC PHARMA LLC | — | mentions | pending | 2026-06-02 |
| 0.560 | polymarket | Miguel Díaz-Canel out as leader of Cuba by June 30? | 12% | mentions | pending | 2026-01-04 |
| 0.554 | polymarket | Iran coup attempt by June 30? | 4% | mentions | pending | 2026-01-06 |
| 0.550 | codex_research_pack | FDA - Framework for AI Models Used for Drug and Biological Product Submissions | — | mentions | pending | 2025-01-06 |
Raw metadata
{
"nia": false,
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVvleNtllPk",
"mode": "SPECULATION",
"role": "Host",
"context": "until some sort of regime change at the FDA which also is not beyond the realm of reason.",
"to_year": 2026,
"verbatim": "we're going to see this type of story I think more and more frequently until some sort of regime change at the FDA which also is not beyond the realm of reason.",
"conv_cues": "not beyond the realm of reason",
"direction": "HAPPEN",
"from_year": 2026,
"timeframe": "future",
"conv_level": "LOW",
"milestones": [
{
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},
{
"kind": "prereq",
"label": "Recursive self-improvement is already happening now (no longer three years out)",
"status": "hit",
"weight": 0.5,
"ordinal": -3,
"source_id": "238_009",
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},
{
"kind": "llm_pre_event",
"label": "FDA Commissioner Makary departure, replacement, or announced leave",
"source": "BioPharma Dive turnover reporting; InsideHealthPolicy",
"status": "overdue",
"weight": 0.4,
"ordinal": -2,
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"confidence": 0.2,
"source_url": "https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/fda-after-turbulent-year-leaves-drugmakers-guessing-on-its-direction/815482/",
"expected_date": "2026-05-27",
"miss_emitted_at": "2026-06-04T22:12:05.653784+00:00",
"miss_emitted_by": "metadata_milestone_sweep",
"research_origin": "training",
"expected_date_range": {
"to": "2026-06-22",
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},
"measurement_criterion": "HHS or White House announces resignation, removal, or extended leave of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary"
},
{
"kind": "llm_pre_event",
"label": "RFK Jr override of FDA decision becomes public or formal",
"source": "BioSpace; Boston Globe Apr 23 2026",
"status": "overdue",
"weight": 0.4,
"ordinal": -1,
"source_id": null,
"confidence": 0.5,
"source_url": "https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/23/newsletters/biotech-rfk-fda-drug-approvals/",
"expected_date": "2026-05-27",
"miss_emitted_at": "2026-06-04T22:12:05.653784+00:00",
"miss_emitted_by": "metadata_milestone_sweep",
"research_origin": "training",
"expected_date_range": {
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"measurement_criterion": "HHS Secretary Kennedy publicly reverses or directs FDA decision in writing, contradicting Makary public stance"
},
{
"kind": "event",
"label": "Regime change at the FDA is not beyond the realm of reason.",
"status": "pending",
"weight": 1
... (truncated)