[This story from The Debrief describes a new study that compares the persuasiveness of propaganda written by humans to that of propaganda generated by artificial intelligence, with worrying results. The story includes extended comments by the lead author (and the original version includes a second image). See also the related WION story “Explained: How AI-generated Propaganda Poses a Real Threat This Historic Election Year.” –Matthew] [Image: Original propaganda and GPT-3-generated AI propaganda were highly persuasive. Credit: Goldstein et al.] AI Propaganda is Dangerously Persuasive and Could Be Used in Covert Operations, New Study Warns By Micah Hanks February 21, 2024…

[This story from Scientific American reports on the latest uses of presence-evoking virtual reality in the study of criminal behavior. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Credit: Maskot/Getty Images] Virtual Bar Scenes Are a New Tool to Study Why People Commit Crimes in the Heat of the Moment Virtual-reality could assist researchers in decoding how emotions spur a decision to commit a crime By Ingrid Wickelgren February 21, 2024 A young man enters a busy, dimly lit pub in Amsterdam alone to await the arrival of friends. A faint dance beat plays in the background. A drunken man approaches the bar and orders…

[This AP story uses examples and research results to illustrate how VR-based presence experiences are enjoyable and useful for older people. See the original story for seven more photos and a 1:44 minute video. –Matthew] [Image: Retired Army Col. Farrell Patrick, 91, wears a VIVE Flow headset as he participates in Mynd Immersive VR therapy at John Know Village. Credit: AP/Lyne Sladky.] ‘Soaring’ over hills or ‘playing’ with puppies, study finds seniors enjoy virtual reality By Terry Spencer Updated February 19, 2024 POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Retired Army Col. Farrell Patrick taught computer science at West Point during the…

[Following the coverage of OpenAI’s Sora software, which lets users generate realistic video from text prompts, the AI voice company ElevenLabs announced new software that adds realistic sound effects to accompany the video, surely enhancing the presence experience of viewers/listeners. This story from New Atlas includes the details and a one-minute video demonstration (also available via YouTube). –Matthew] [Image: “What if you could describe a sound and generate it with AI?” teases ElevenLabs as AI-generated sound effects and dialog are added to video footage generated by Sora from OpenAI. Credit: ElevenLabs.] Stunning new AI adds realistic sound effects to any…

[Sora, a new tool from OpenAI, produces impressively convincing videos from text prompts. This story from Computerworld provides some of the details and raises some frequently mentioned concerns, as well as a more novel one from Dan Faggella of Emerj Artificial Intelligence. See the original version of the story for two more images and two video examples. For related coverage, see stories from Gizmodo and CBS News. The Decoder reports that “Meta’s chief AI researcher says OpenAI’s ‘world simulator’ Sora is a dead end,” and that he says Meta has a better approach. In any case, presence-evoking technology is advancing…

[One of the many aspects of interactions with media technologies that can ‘break’ presence is lag, the delay between the user’s action and the technology’s response. In a February 20, 2024 essay in Stratechery, Matthew Ball explains the need for reducing lag in interactions with AI: “[T]he closer an AI comes to being human, the more grating and ultimately gating are the little inconveniences that get in the way of actually interacting with said AI. It is one thing to have to walk to your desk to use a PC, or even reach into your pocket for a smartphone: you…