[Digital Today reporter Jinju Hong] Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and CEO of SpaceX, is again drawing attention for his technology philosophy laid out at a 2012 commencement ceremony at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). At the time, Musk likened advanced technology to “magic” and said technological progress was his most important motivation.

On June 10 local time, IT outlet TechRadar reported that Musk quoted a famous line by British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke in his 2012 Caltech commencement address.

Clarke said in his 1973 book “Profiles of the Future” that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Musk linked the quote to his own technology philosophy and described his vision of future technology.

He told graduates at the time, “If you can contribute to improving technology, that’s like magic and it’s really awesome.” He added that technology people use routinely today was also hard to imagine in the past. Musk said, “If you went back 300 years, you would have been burned at the stake for the things we take for granted today.” The remarks reflect a view that today’s level of technology could look unrealistically radical by past standards.

The renewed attention to the speech comes amid a range of advanced technology projects Musk has pursued in recent years. The outlet highlighted brain-computer interface (BCI) company Neuralink as a key example. Neuralink is developing technology that allows users to control computers and smart devices with their thoughts through an implanted brain device. The company aims to help people with severe paralysis or neurological disorders use digital devices more freely.

Early users’ experiences are also reviving Musk’s “magic” analogy. Earlier this year, a user of a Neuralink device described the technology as “like magic” in an interview. He said, “This technology gave me new hope,” underscoring the possibility of changes in his life. This is seen as an example of future technology Musk spoke about more than a decade ago increasingly becoming a real-world experience.

Musk has become a symbolic figure of technological innovation by leading electric vehicle maker Tesla and space company SpaceX after co-founding online financial services company X.com in the late 1990s. More recently, he has expanded into areas including artificial intelligence (AI), brain-computer interfaces and robotics.

This renewed focus is significant not because of a new product launch or business plan, but because it revisits Musk’s long-held view of technology.

In an environment where technology directly connecting humans and machines is entering real-world use and AI is advancing rapidly, the line “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” is being seen as taking on fresh, practical meaning.

The industry views Musk’s 2012 speech as a symbolic example showing not only the development of technology itself, but also how technology is experienced by humans. As technologies once regarded as science fiction are realized, the “magic-like technology” Musk described is also increasingly becoming a present-tense expression.