[MediaPost reports on a new tool available to anyone to create apparently real news anchors delivering apparently real news, which provides an excellent example of the potential perils of presence illusions. See the original story for a second image, read the press release in Yahoo! Finance, and watch a short demonstration video on the Hour One website. –Matthew]

Human Avatar Developer Moves Into News, Enables Anyone To Have Their Own ‘Anchor’

By Joe Mandese
August 23, 2022

At a time when many in the media industry are debating the authenticity of some sources of news and information, a developer of “virtual human” video avatars is rolling out a new version that could blur the line even further. The company, Hour One, this morning announced a new newsroom version enabling anyone to create life-like “virtual news anchors” disseminating information from virtual news studios that may look indistinguishable from actual news outlets to some viewers.… read more. “Human avatar developer moves into news, enables anyone to have their own ‘anchor’”

[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: A political candidate is giving a speech to millions of people. While each viewer thinks they are seeing the same version of the candidate, in virtual reality they are actually each seeing a slightly different version. For each and every viewer, the candidate’s face has been subtly modified to resemble the viewer.… read more. “Facebook misinformation is bad enough. The metaverse will be worse.”

[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 is rooted in evidence-based approaches to productivity, and systems of accountability developed by leading executive and leadership coaches.”

See the website of Life At Spaces (now apparently renamed LifeAt) to see an overview of the many features of that service and click “Try it Out” or “Go to app” to see it in action.… read more. “How to cowork remotely with friends – or strangers”

[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 similar (but less simple) earlier game called “Rock Simulator” is reviewed on YouTube and a 24 hour continuous gameplay session (!) is available on Twitch. –Matthew]

“Rock Life: The Rock Simulator” review: What the VR community asked for is here

By Skarredghost
July 27, 2022

While yesterday the VR community was on fire because of the new anti-modding update of VRChat and the price rise of the Quest 2, I was discovering a little gem of VR gaming, suggested to me by my friend Dario of Cybermachine Studios.… read more. “Simple (and funny) presence: “Rock Life: The Rock Simulator””

[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

Holocaust campaigner Marina Smith appeared able to answer questions at a funeral celebration of her life, thanks to new technology – her son has said.

Mrs Smith died in June, aged 87, but video technology, built by her son’s firm, meant those attending her funeral could watch her respond to their questions about her life.… read more. “Holocaust activist seems to answer mourners’ questions at her funeral”