Stagecraft, technology and magic | Seminar with Ariana Dongus and Ricardo Sánchez

In this second installment of the series "Stagecraft, Technology and Magic" (following the visit to Amazon's logistics center in Illescas), Andrea Muniáin and Paula Ramos Mollá host a conversation between expert guests — AI researcher Ariana Dongus and magician Ricardo Sánchez — and 20 participants, exploring topics such as the commodification of generative AI; the use of marketing as a way of legitimizing technological discourse; and the mechanisms of concealment and revelation as engines of technological progress — uncovering what these have in common with a contemporary idea of "the magical." 

The public research project El Gesto Digital by Andrea Muniáin and Paula Ramos Mollá examines the historical and contemporary relationships between technology and magic, understanding the magical as an ongoing tension between concealment and revelation throughout the history of technology. It is one of the projects in residence at Medialab under the Investigación Situada 2026 program. 

More than a conventional talk, this seminar/conversation is conceived as a methodology — a starting point for discussing different themes through the perspectives of the invited experts and the enrolled participants. Together, we will explore the spectacularization of technology, tracing its history from the emergence of automata in the seventeenth century to the recent commercialization of robotics and the entry of AI into our everyday lives. The aim of the conversation is to think collectively about whether the very spectacle of technology somehow legitimizes it as something inaccessible and incomprehensible — and, in turn, all the more astonishing and captivating. 

Practical Information

Free to attend, but you'll need to register first. The 20 participation seats will be assigned based on the motivation and background you share when signing up. If you don't get a spot, you're still welcome to come and audit.

Registration form