Here's the anthropological answer
Language is indeed the ultimate predictor. By analyzing the natural makeup of language within the context of a topic, we can not only observe the language that is currently dominating and consistently shaping consumer perception, but we can also identify language that, while currently further away in semantic distance from the core, is slowly evolving and moving closer to the core. This motion indicates a gaining momentum, providing us with an incredibly vivid picture of how culture is changing and transforming. There's nothing deeply magical about it - all we needed to do is construct a contextual language map to help us visualize what today and tomorrow might look like.
Here's the mathematical answer
In over 1000 benchmarking searches, where we compared predictions in the past to current outcomes, 80.4% of our predictions held up with a 4.8% margin of error.
We're predicting the evolution of culture. When our machine runs the predictions it looks at the last four years of the topic universe to understand the nature and consistency of change, and then to extend that into the future. There's no way for our machine to take into account a cultural shift/event that can affect the topic universe overnight and cause change - e.g. an election, a major scandal in culture, etc.
Despite this, however, our predictions exceed an 80% accuracy rate which is unprecedented. Furthermore, clients apply our predictions to quantify and qualify investment decisions. These predictions have already driven more than $5B USD in new revenue and have led to the successful launch of more than 100 products and services.