“Predictions” can also be justified on cognitive bias – the tendency of people to confirm their point of view. The audience found a couple of dozen fulfilled “predictions” and continue to look for new ones, but do not pay attention to the “unfulfilled” ones. And there are countless of them in the series, since not only the plot of the episode, but also any joke or small gag that appeared in the frame for a few seconds can become a “prediction”.
So, in the 1995 series “Lisa’s Wedding”, which takes place in 2010, the creators suggested that in the future there will be holographic trees, Big Ben’s clock will be digital, and landline phones will still be relevant. None of this came true.
The writers of the show themselves explain the “predictions” by the fact that they understand the cultural background of the events well. The Simpsons showrunner Al Jean told The New York Times that the episodes air a year after production, so filmmakers have to “think ahead of their minds ahead of time.”