We review recent progress in empirical modeling, including a new empirical model, Trinity, that observationally constrains the joint relationship between supermassive black holes (SMBHs), galaxies, and dark matter halos from z=0 to z=7. Trinity can recover the average growth and merger histories of all detectable SMBHs, describe the evolution of the SMBH—galaxy relationship through time, and reveal correlations between galaxy growth and SMBH growth. We discuss how empirical models like Trinity and others can provide forecasts for the range of results expected for new observations with new telescopes, including HWO.