[According to this story from The Guardian, and Loughborough University’s press release via GlobeNewswire, instructors and guest speakers will soon regularly appear in European university classes via Proto holograms, either appearing as realistic versions of themselves or as other personas. The press release notes that “the school joins a dozen U.S. universities using Proto” and that “Proto has been used at Harvard, Dartmouth, William & Mary Law School, Hobart & Williams, Gallaudet, the University of Central Florida, and many more.” Of course some of those quoted in the story may be biased, but it sounds like students are impressed by and enjoy the social presence experience created by the holograms. See the Proto website for more information. –Matthew]

[Image: Prof Vikki Locke and Prof Gary Burnett try out the hologram technology. Credit: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian]

Hologram lecturers thrill students at trailblazing UK university

AI-powered technology that projects lifelike avatars trialled at Loughborough University

By Rachel Hall
January 21, 2024

Any university lecturer will tell you that luring students to a morning lecture is an uphill struggle.… read more. “Hologram lecturers thrill students at trailblazing UK university”

[It’s unclear how effective it will be, but the latest example of the growing threat from the use of generative artificial intelligence technologies to manipulate perceptions and behavior in the political sphere is the use of automatic phone calls that seem to be from President Joe Biden, telling prospective voters not to vote in today’s first-in-the-nation primary election. The details are in this story from CNN, where you can listen to the robocall. More context on the threat follows below from USA Today’s coverage. See also “Three technology trends shaping 2024’s elections” from MIT Technology Review. –Matthew]

[Image: Attendees hold signs during a Write-In Joe Biden campaign “Get Out The Vote” event in Dover, New Hampshire, US, on Sunday, January 21, 2024.]

Fake Joe Biden robocall urges New Hampshire voters not to vote in Tuesday’s Democratic primary

By Em Steck and Andrew Kaczynski, CNN
January 22, 2024

CNN — A robocall that appears to be an AI voice resembling President Joe Biden is reaching out to New Hampshire residents, advising them against voting in Tuesday’s presidential primary and saving their vote for the November general election.… read more. “Fake Joe Biden robocall urges New Hampshire voters not to vote in Tuesday’s Democratic primary”

[Virtual influencers on social media aren’t new, but as the technology improves and their images and text become more convincing, they’re more likely to evoke presence in internet users and be perceived as real people. This story from the Daily Mail provides a vivid example; see the original version for eight more images, one of which is a screengrab of a conversation with a user. For more images and information, see Emily Pellegrini‘s Instagram. Combine this story with one in Futurism titled, “Huge proportion of internet is AI-generated slime, researchers find,” and the increasing difficulty in accurately distinguishing human and machine-created content becomes even more worrisome (in fact, the uncorrected typos in the story below initially had me wondering if it was generated by AI). –Matthew]

Meet the ‘world’s hottest model’ catching the eye of famous footballers, MMA fighters and billionaires – but is all what it seems?… read more. “Virtual influencer/model catching the eye of famous footballers, MMA fighters and billionaires”

[Although the focus of this story from MLive/The Grand Rapids Press isn’t on how people will perceive and respond them, the headline captures the potential for interesting medium-as-social-actor presence as students and others encounter “AI students” (which also expands the meaning of “diversity” on campuses). The story notes that at first “the two AI students, who are named Ann and Fry, will only be able to observe the class, but the goal is for the AI students to soon be able to speak during classroom discussions and have two-way conversations with their classmates.” Similarly, “the AI students won’t have a physical, robotic form that will be walking the hallways of Ferris State – for now,” but this all forecasts a future in which humans and AI-powered robots regularly interact in the university, and of course many other, settings.  –Matthew]

[Image: Credit: Steve Jessmore / Ferris State University]

Your classmate could be an AI student at this Michigan university

By Melissa Frick
January 8, 2024

BIG RAPIDS, MI – A Michigan university is believed to be the first in the country to use artificial intelligence (AI) to create virtual students that will enroll in classes and participate in lessons and assignments.… read more. “Your classmate could be an AI student at this Michigan university”

[This first-person report on an experimental application of presence-evoking technology in a BMW electric vehicle is from TechRadar (where the original story includes four more images). The author writes that “It’s the subtlety that makes it work”; here’s a key quote from near the end:

“[The augmented elements] appear as real objects and not in some illusion-crushing and distracting form… This is the key to successful AR in a car. It not only has to provide an augmented experience, but it has to work with and make sense in the real world.”

 –Matthew]

BMW just put AR in a car, and it finally makes perfect sense

Getting Xreal in a BMW

By Lance Ulanoff, US Editor in Chief
January 9, 2024

If you asked me to wear AR glasses on top of my regular glasses for a short ride in a lovely BMW EV, I would’ve said, “No thanks.”… read more. “First-person report: BMW just put AR in a car, and it finally makes perfect sense”