[A new system developed at MIT will make it possible to communicate more naturally with robots, in many different contexts, via medium-as-social-actor presence. The story is from MIT News, and a 2:25 minute video is available in coverage by Design News and on YouTube. –Matthew] Robot learns to follow orders like Alexa ComText, from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, allows robots to understand contextual commands. Adam Conner-Simons | Rachel Gordon | CSAIL August 30, 2017 Despite what you might see in movies, today’s robots are still very limited in what they can do. They can be great for…

[As this story from Forbes notes, we’re living in an era that “used to be science fiction” – the ‘Brainternet’ project raises a variety of interesting and potentially scary prospects for forms of presence enabled by networked brain-computer interfaces. For more details see the press release from University of the Witwatersrand and coverage in Motherboard, both of which include a 2:45 minute video. –Matthew] Are You Ready To Have Your Brain Connected To The Internet? September 24, 2017 David DiSalvo, Contributor (Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own) By now we’re all familiar with the “Internet of Things” and have…

[This story from the New Statesman describes both the benefits and ethical challenges of incorporating multiple types of presence, particularly medium-as-social-actor presence, in education. –Matthew] “Eton for all”: will robot teachers mean everyone gets an elite education? From Shakespeare holograms to mental health, how artificial intelligence could transform our schools. October 2 2017 By Lizzie Palmer There are a few certainties in this world: death, taxes, and that our jobs will eventually be taken by robots. However, some professions are under greater threat than others. Accountants and couriers should probably worry. But doctors and teachers will be fine, surely? Even…

[This story about the award-winning VR film “Bloodless” describes a media creator’s perspective on the important differences between film and interactive,  immersive virtual reality; it’s from the AP via Philly Voice. For more information, see coverage in the Korea Herald and the Gina Kim‘s website. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Samantha K. Kim] Director turns to virtual reality to tastefully show tragedy By Youkyung Lee Associated Press October 02, 2017 SEOUL, South Korea — For 25 years filmmaker Gina Kim wanted to make a movie about the true story of a South Korean sex worker killed by an American soldier, but struggled…