Smart Horizons 2027
Featured Keynote: Marco Tempest
Techno-Illusionist. Creative Thinker. Explorer of What’s Possible.
What happens when magic, technology and human imagination come together?
About the Keynote
Where Magic Meets Technology
Marco Tempest creates an immersive experience that blurs the line between the possible and the impossible. Through a distinctive combination of illusion, emerging technology and storytelling, he sparks new ways of thinking about creativity, collaboration and the future.
Born in Zurich, Marco paired a talent for engineering with a childhood love of magic and storytelling, and helped create a new genre of illusion he calls technomagic. Today he is a creative technologist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Extended Reality Lead consultant for Accenture and a Director’s Fellow alumnus of the MIT Media Lab.
A regular on the TED stage, Marco has spent his career finding astonishing ways to explain difficult ideas, from launching new technologies for global brands to prototyping tomorrow’s interfaces. He believes good ideas, like good people, thrive with the right care and support, and that with it, nothing is impossible.
His work challenges audiences to move beyond conventional boundaries, share their talents and turn seemingly impossible ideas into action.
- Extended Reality Lead consultant, Accenture
- Creative Technologist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Director’s Fellow alumnus, MIT Media Lab
- Founder and Director, MagicLab, New York City
- 7×
- Invited to speak at TED
- 30M+
- Views across his YouTube channel
- 250M+
- Estimated reach of The Virtual Magician series
- 50+
- Markets that aired the series
On the Stage
Talks That Stretch What’s Possible
Marco’s signature topics span AI, immersive media and the future of storytelling, each told through live illusion and technology.
TED Stage
A swarm of mini drones makes… magic!
One of seven TED talks, with more than 350,000 views.
Watch the talk on YouTube (opens in a new tab)Good or Evil?
How AI is transforming life, work and society.
Inventing the Impossible
The world of technology and creativity.
AI and ChatGPT
Extending the boundaries of conventional technology.
The Future Is Here
Where science meets science fiction.
The Future of Storytelling
Better stories for a better future.
Business and Digital Media
The power of magic and technology.
Learning from the Future
Technology, innovation and the illusion of the day after tomorrow.
Meet the People Sparking What’s Next
Smart Horizons brings together healthcare leaders, technology innovators and industry voices who are rethinking what’s possible and turning ideas into meaningful change.
Speakers will be announced soon.
Sign up for speaker announcements, agenda updates and event news.
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