[In the aftermath of the US presidential election, I’ve had the thought that the result, and much of what preceded it, provides unsettling support for the Simulation Argument that we’re living in someone else’s sophisticated simulation – essentially, I’ve experienced inverse presence, the sense that nonmediated experience is mediated. It turns out this idea was advanced and explained in detail back in July, after the Republican National Convention, in this story in Cyborgology; the original includes the additional images mentioned. –Matthew] Image: Source: “A MIT computer scientist created a Donald Trump Twitter bot — and it’s oddly realistic” in Business…

[Presence can be a valuable calming influence. This story is from The Creators Project, where it includes more images and a 1:36 minute video; see the link at the end below for more information, and for related coverage see “Virtual Reality experiences to escape the Trump Presidency” from VR-Zone. –Matthew] We Asked a VR Meditation Expert How To Stay Calm Beckett Mufson November 9 2016 The Creators Project team thought we’d give you some much needed R&R from the headlines, so we’ve roped together a regimen of healing and happy stories to help get you through the day. If you’re…

[Now you can have a first-person presence experience of last weekend’s 2016 New York City Marathon; this story from Sports Illustrated includes the 0:43 minute preview video. For detailed information about an upcoming Sports Illustrated VR documentary that takes users on a climb of Mount Everest see coverage in Variety. –Matthew] SI debuts first-person virtual reality experience of 2016 New York City Marathon Monday November 7th, 2016 Sports Illustrated, Life VR and CyberLink have joined forces to create a first-person virtual reality experience that allows users to see the 2016 New York City Marathon through the eyes of 10-time participant…

[This story from Bustle highlights the use of presence for social action and change. If you’re eligible, please vote today in this critically important election. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images] MTV’s “Open Your Eyes” Virtual Reality Art Show Brings To Life Everything That’s At Stake In The 2016 Election By Suzannah Weiss November 7, 2016 If you think politics are a dry subject matter, MTV’s “Open Your Eyes” virtual reality art show might change your mind. Through digital art created through the 3D painting program Tilt Brush, 18 artists have brought the most important political issues of our time…

[The evolution from Second Life to persistent virtual worlds for VR raises important possibilities for presence. This story is from Variety from earlier this year and for more see recent coverage by CNBC. –Matthew] HelloVR Is Creating A 10,000 Square Mile Virtual Reality World Janko Roettgers, Senior Silicon Valley Correspondent July 20, 2016 Never mind the foosball table: One of the perks of working for San Francisco-based virtual reality (VR) startup HelloVR is a 24-hour campfire — a digital campfire, to be precise. It’s part of MetaWorld, the virtual world that HelloVR has been building over the past several months.…

[This story from New Scientist considers a future in which we use telepresence to embody not just a single robot but many of them, both human-like and non-human-like. The prospects raise lots of intriguing research and philosophical questions. The original story includes a different image and a 2:54 minute video. –Matthew] [Image: Source: YouTube] What is it like to be a bot? The strange world of telerobotics Not Like Us is Aviva Rutkin’s monthly column exploring the minds of intelligent machines – and how we live with them By Aviva Rutkin 2 November 2016 “What is it like to be a…