From the moment she appeared, the judges were charmed. Dressed like a storybook character, she asked the audience to believe in “smart magic” — and then the impossible began. She waved her wand, and an image appeared in midair, floating — it was a dove, drawn by an AI she said she trained herself. Then, she whispered to it, and the digital bird transformed into a real one, fluttering into the judges’ hands. The crowd gasped.

Each trick built on the last. Cards read minds. Flowers bloomed from thin air. On the screen behind her, a magical AI assistant responded to her every word, changing the background, answering riddles, even predicting what the judges would say next.