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UID:20251123T1240Z-1763901655.2134-EO-18314-45@10.19.146.24
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SUMMARY: Smoke & Mirrors: The Imperial Arc of AI Magic
DESCRIPTION: Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are often described in th
 e current zeitgeist as having magical\, super-human qualities. Critics have
  emphasized that these rhetorical allusions to magic are designed to obscur
 e developer responsibility for the direct and indirect consequences of new 
 products\, and to frame these technologies as uncontrollable and inevitable
 . In other words\, these claims to […]
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: <p><a href="https://allard.ubc.ca/about-us/ev
 ents-calendar/smoke-mirrors-imperial-arc-ai-magic"><img class="aligncenter 
 wp-image-18317 size-medium_large" src="https://cfcj.cms.arts.ubc.ca/wp-cont
 ent/uploads/sites/45/2025/11/Copy-of-Website-Header-banner-9-768x432.png" a
 lt="" width="620" height="349" /></a></p><p>Artificial intelligence (AI) sy
 stems are often described in the current zeitgeist as having magical\, supe
 r-human qualities. Critics have emphasized that these rhetorical allusions 
 to magic are designed to obscure developer responsibility for the direct an
 d indirect consequences of new products\, and to frame these technologies a
 s uncontrollable and inevitable. In other words\, these claims to magic are
  strategically useful to Big Tech developers.</p><p>But throughout contempo
 rary history\, rhetorical claims and accusations of magic have been levelle
 d at people and communities in order to justify legal repression\, disposse
 ssion\, and colonial conquest and expansion. Why then is a claim to magic u
 seful for avoiding legal constraints in the AI context\, where it has so of
 ten justified legal dispossession\, exploitation\, and enslavement?</p><p>T
 his incongruity is bridged at least in part by a common function of enchant
 ment discourse: to obscure imperial policy\, justify colonial actions\, and
  to Other and dehumanize the people and land needed to maintain economic an
 d political dominance. In other words\, ‘magic’ follows a common rhetorical
  and legal thread that links historical and ongoing colonial processes of e
 xploitation of people and planet. Uncontested claims that AI is magical car
 ry serious consequences for global environments. This presentation draws on
  a co-authored paper\, in which we hope that making this connection more di
 scernible can help demystify international processes that may restrain the 
 growth of an imperial industry.</p><h2><strong>Speaker</strong></h2><p><img
  class="size-medium wp-image-18318 alignleft" src="https://cfcj.cms.arts.ub
 c.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2025/11/Dr.-Kristen-Thomasen-248x300.jpg" 
 alt="" width="248" height="300" /><a href="https://www.uwindsor.ca/law/3441
 /kristen-thomasen-associate-professor" rel="nofollow">Dr. Kristen Thomasen<
 /a> is one of the leading Canadian experts in robotics law and policy\, spe
 cializing in drone regulation and the privacy impacts of robotic technologi
 es\, including artificial intelligence (AI). Dr. Thomasen is an Associate P
 rofessor and Chair in Law\, Robotics and Society at the University of Winds
 or Faculty of Law. Before joining Windsor Law\, Dr. Thomasen was an Assista
 nt Professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of Brit
 ish Columbia from 2021 to 2024. Previously\, Dr. Thomasen clerked at the Su
 preme Court of Canada for the Honourable Justice Rosalie Abella and at the 
 Alberta Court of King’s Bench and is a member of the Law Society of Alberta
 .</p><p>Learn more on the <a href="https://allard.ubc.ca/about-us/events-ca
 lendar/smoke-mirrors-imperial-arc-ai-magic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 Allard School website.</a></p>
LOCATION:Fasken Martineau Classroom\, Room 122\, Allard School of Law
GEO:49.260872;-123.113952
URL;VALUE=URI:https://climatejustice.ubc.ca/events/event/smoke-mirrors-the-
 imperial-arc-of-ai-magic/
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