[An expert in deception and manipulation wrote this warning about the dangers of presence for The Washington Post; it concludes with recommendations to study and develop technology to counter them. For more about the author  see his LinkedIn page. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Matt Chinworth for The Washington Post] Opinion Facebook misinformation is bad enough. The metaverse will be worse. By Rand Waltzman, adjunct senior information scientist at the Rand Corporation August 22, 2022 Here’s a plausible scenario that could soon take place in the metaverse, the online virtual reality environments under rapid development by Mark Zuckerberg and other tech entrepreneurs:…

[This story from Wired describes two services that use social (co)presence (and in the case of the second, also spatial presence) to increase the productivity of people who work remotely. There’s no discussion of *why* it works, but the ‘About’ page of the Focusmate website includes this: “You choose a time to work, and Focusmate pairs you with an accountability partner for a live, virtual coworking session that will keep you on task. Research in psychology and behavioral science shows that regular human connection reduces the likelihood that a worker will procrastinate or become distracted. The Focusmate virtual coworking model…

[Despite the humorous description in this review by TonyVT (Skarredghost) in his excellent The Ghost Howls blog, and modern echoes of the Pet Rock phenomenon, “Rock Life: The Rock Simulator” is a real, apparently presence-evoking game for VR and other platforms. I see a sly but important message here about the ability of even simple, low resolution, limited interaction simulations to create effective, and in these stressful times, appealing, presence experiences. See the original blog post for more images, and a 7:28 minute video version of the review on YouTube; there’s also a 4:20 minute un-narrated gameplay video on YouTube.…

[A vivid example of presence after death is described in this story from BBC News. Additional details from the Daily Mail follow below; the original version of that story also contains more images. A 1:33 minute video is available in DesignTAXI’s coverage (and available on YouTube), and you can interact with the StoryFile version of the late Marina Smith on her foundation’s website. For more on StoryFile and related projects, see the May 2021 ISPR Presence News post “Modern Spiritualism: How holograms, deepfakes, and AR are raising the dead.” –Matthew] Holocaust activist seems to talk to guests at her funeral…

[Here’s a succinct summary of the features needed for a ‘perfect’ VR headset. See the original version of the MIXED story for an image or video about each feature, as well as a video of the 2 hour 40 minute Siggraph presentation (also available via YouTube). For a related story see the June 2022 ISPR Presence News post “Meta reveals VR prototypes on path to improve presence and pass the ‘Visual Turing test.’” –Matthew] Meta’s display chief names 10 features for a perfect VR headset There are still many hurdles to overcome before virtual reality reaches its technical potential. The…

[Amid vivid news coverage of modern inhumanity around the world, this touching and inspiring NPR story describes a project that uses presence experiences to help people affected by such events in the past. See the original version for the seven minute video and many more pictures. –Matthew] [Image: Ishar Das Arora, 83, watches a 3-D video of his birthplace in Pakistan, through a virtual reality device. Credit: Raksha Kumar/NPR] 75 years after India’s violent Partition, survivors can cross the border — virtually By Lauren Frayer August 13, 2022 NEW DELHI — First comes the melancholy twang of a South Asian…