[Commlist] 4S Call for Abstracts: Techno-Magical Futures & Histories

Call for abstracts for an open panel at *4S 2026 (7-10 October in 
Toronto): /Techno-Magical Futures & Histories 
<https://www.4sonline.org/accepted_open_panels_toronto.php>/*/ (Panel 
#245). /

The panel explores:

  *
    the historical, material, and socio-cultural dimensions of the
    relationship between magic and technology
  *
    efforts by Silicon Valley to position AI technologies as omniscient,
    god-like entities with supernatural capabilities
  *
    intersections between magic and computation; magic and technoscience
  *
    discussions including techno-magical discourses, sociotechnical
    imaginaries, material practices, hegemonic order, policy and regulation


Scholars across various fields and disciplines including communication 
and media studies are welcome to submit a 250-word abstract. The 
deadline is 30 April.

Please see a detailed call below or at this link 
<https://www.4sonline.org/accepted_open_panels_toronto.php>. And please 
share with any colleagues who would be interested.

Leona Nikolić
(leona.nikolic /at/ mail.concordia.ca)
*
*
*Techno-Magical Futures & Histories*

There has been an effort by Silicon Valley to position AI technologies 
as omniscient, god-like entities with supernatural capabilities. In late 
2023, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that his company’s primary mission 
was to create “magic intelligence in the sky” (Murgia, 2023, para. 8). 
Big Tech giant Google introduced overtly magical and astrological 
branding for its recent AI products: Genie, Gemini, and Project Astra 
(Hassabis, 2024; Marini, 2024). Scholars have made analogies between AI 
and magic or divination (Boxer, 2020; Larsson & Viktorelius, 2024; 
Marenko, 2019), examined magical discourse in the tech industry (Campolo 
& Crawford, 2020; Zhan, 2025), and explored historical relations between 
magic and technoscience (Hörl, 2018; Josephson-Storm, 2017; Natale, 2021).

This intersection between magic and computation is not new; we can 
recall software ‘wizards’ of the 1990s, background computer programmes 
known as ‘daemons,’ and the mystically named Oracle coding software, for 
example. Moreover, there is a longstanding theoretical discourse on the 
relationship between magic and technology (Daston & Park, 1998; Dreyfus, 
1965; Horkheimer & Adorno, 1947; Latour, 1988; Lévi-Strauss, 1962; 
Simondon, 1958; Stengers, 2000; Weber, 1920; Wiener, 1964).

This panel invites researchers to consider these recent and historical 
interdependencies, especially in the face of contemporary 
techno-oligarchies. How does ‘techno-magical’ discourse shape 
sociotechnical imaginaries and material practices of AI? What is the 
relationship between technologies and the myths that they uphold? Which 
kinds of futures does technomagical discourse produce and how do these 
futures maintain or disrupt hegemonic societal order, social cohesion, 
and collective realities? Which theoretical perspectives can help us 
understand the relationship between magic, technoscience, and 
technopower? And how can such research contribute to policy discussions 
and regulatory approaches regarding questions about transparency and 
accountability in algorithmic decision-making?


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