Magnús Smári Smárason

I build and research AI systems to understand how they can help us redefine what is possible.

I came to this work sideways. Sixteen years as a paramedic and firefighter taught me pattern recognition, diagnostic thinking, and exactly what happens when systems fail people. In November 2022, the week I transitioned to office work, ChatGPT launched. Where others saw a curiosity, I recognized a phase change. I started building immediately—evenings, weekends, every margin available.

That practice generated theory. Watching the technology evolve from a "diligent intern" in early 2025 to "conducting an orchestra" by year's end revealed critical insights. I explore concepts like Responsibility Fog (how accountability dissolves across algorithmic systems), Cognitive Debt (how judgment atrophies through dependence), and the Metamorphosis Frame—the danger of measuring a butterfly with instruments designed for caterpillars.

Veritas in praxi. Truth in practice.

Currently, I serve as the AI Project Manager at University of Akureyri, where I led the development of Iceland's first comprehensive university AI policy. I oversee production systems including BORG (institutional governance) and Arctic Tracker (conservation analytics). Outside the university, I drive AI literacy through keynotes, seminars, and strategic coaching. I host Temjum tæknina, serve on the Rannís Expert Panel, and am co-authoring The Irreducible Human (Brill).

My work is driven by a single question: How do we navigate this interregnum with digital sovereignty intact—building capacity and freedom rather than surrendering both to systemic inertia?