[A portal that connects New York and Dublin has re-opened following some inappropriate behavior by people in both locations, as reported in this story from RTÉ (Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland’s National Public Service Media). The excerpt from coverage by The Guardian that follows below adds context. For more pictures and videos of the portal, see The Cut. –Matthew] [Image: New Yorkers greet people in Dublin during the reveal of the Portal in the Flatiron district in Manhattan, New York, on May 8, 2024. Credit: Brendan McDermid/Reuters. Source: The Guardian.] ‘Portal’ linking Dublin and NYC restarts with set hours May 19, 2024…

[This opinion piece from CNN provides a link-filled summary of the significant advances in the latest version of ChatGPT, including a more informal “personality” that creates a “more natural human-computer interaction” likely to evoke greater medium-as-social-actor presence in users. As the author notes, The Daily Show provided an insightful and entertaining take on the features of ChatGPT-4o. See also the related essay, “I Am Once Again Asking Our Tech Overlords to Watch the Whole Movie. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has seemingly cited Her as an inspiration for ChatGPT’s conversational voice assistant update. Maybe don’t!” in Wired. Here’s a key quote:…

[Presence-evoking digital spaces provide new opportunities to not just mimic real life but create new modes of interaction and learning. This story from Aalto University in Finland describes an interesting example in the context of dance instruction. Watch the 1:32 minute video in the original story (and available on YouTube) to see how the innovative WAVE technique works. –Matthew] [Image: The WAVE technique demonstrated in a video screenshot. Credit: Markus Laattala.] Researchers develop a new way to instruct dance in Virtual Reality The new virtual reality technique makes it easier to join a dance routine without first having to learn…

[The camera in an art project called Nuca uses generative artificial intelligence to create photos in which people who are dressed normally appear to be naked. Rather than being prurient, the goal is to make us think about the potential of AI to “destroy reality.” This story about the project is from Fast Company, where the original includes four more images and a 2:38 minute video (which is also available on Vimeo). –Matthew] A new camera can undress people almost in real time—to send a message about AI Nuca, a new deepfake camera, is an art project that shows how…

[Apologies for the glitchy re-start of ISPR Presence News posts; if you didn’t receive the full version of yesterday’s post titled “Virtual reality environment for teens may offer an accessible, affordable way to reduce stress,” you can read it here. The story below is from NPR and reports on a series of AI-generated images distributed on social media that appeared to show certain celebrities attending and modeling dramatic fashions at the recent MET Gala even though those individuals hadn’t attended the event. In one case the AI image deceived even singer Katy Perry’s mother. Both this story and an excerpt…

[Researchers created a virtual reality environment to reduce stress among teens and conducted a study suggesting that it works. This story is from the University of Washington, where the original version includes two more images and a 1:12 minute video; the published study is available from the link in the story. –Matthew] Virtual reality environment for teens may offer an accessible, affordable way to reduce stress By Stefan Milne, UW NewsMay 1, 2024 Social media. The climate crisis. Political polarization. The tumult of a pandemic and online learning. Teens today are dealing with unprecedented stressors, and over the past decade…