The Magic in Artificial Intelligence

I love magic tricks. I always have. The illusion, the "Wow, how did they do that!?" The puzzle and trying to crack the magicians code, yet at the same time, loving the idea of the trick so much that I don't really want to know the secrets - just to be entertained. 

I recently watched an episode of 'Magic For Humans' on Netflix with the Amazing magician Justin Willman, where the theme of the episode was "Terrifying Tech". In just over 20 minutes, Willman manages to add some extra magic to Virtual Reality, delve into the prediction powers of AI and, (quite ethically questionably), convince some unsuspecting participants that the US government had their doctors plant in them 'chips' during their last operation. (Hoping that they were later told off camera that that was all in good humour for the show...)

This episode got me thinking - is our desire to explore deeper into the nuanced world of tech all just a bid for us to bring magic to life, without the illusions and quick slides of hand 'tricking' us? What was once a sci-fi fantasy, comes to life in the labs and on the computers of field experts, with the people using the results benefiting from being able to call out any question and have it answered by a little talking box whilst being transported to another world of possibilities through the power of some magical goggles.

Yes, technology is magical. But do we respond to the tricks of technology the same way in which we do a magicians hand - and should we? For some, (such as myself), to know the tricks of the magicians trade is fascinating for a moment, but then the excitement and the 'wow factor' that the false reality had created is gone and the enjoyment of the trick becomes like a joke you've already heard. Yet when it comes to technology, the properties it creates are of a different quality. Directly impacting our world through, (to the average person), unknown and misunderstood mechanisms, we yearn to understand what is in the black box, how does it work, what does that mean for us, and what are the motivations behind the creator?

​Even though we may not all be able to configure certain technologies, transparency for what is behind the mask and what enables the illusion is what helps towards people's understanding of the technology - and understanding, is the first step towards not fearing it and instead, even welcoming it.

Having a quick-handed magician pull out your chosen card and then guess your birthday correctly can all be in good fun - having an algorithm know everything there is about you and where you'll be next, on the other hand, not so much. The line between harmless people-reading which you had volunteered to is crossed and an invasion of privacy becomes ever present. 

For the magic of technology to really be freely enjoyed, it needs to leave people not feeling nervous or at the mercy of sacrificing their rights for some convenience, but instead, excited for the next trick.

Although I claim to be no magician myself, it is reasoned that when it comes to doing magic tricks, and particularly in audience participation, an element of reading people and understanding human choices and emotions are needed. Which is why it makes Willman having the Worlds First Magic Battle of Human vs. Robot even more intriguing!  Of course Willman's magic does involve more of the human knowledge based tricks, but MAGI from RoMeLa at UCLA performs their magic tricks so well, it does make you wonder when technology will catch up to us with that as well...

You can check out the video below for MAGI's Magic Tricks - but I'll just let you watch the episode to see who won the Magic Battle!
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