[The very short story below, from the website of KOAT in Albuquerque, New Mexico, describes that city’s role in the 2026 celebration of the 100th anniversary of the famous U.S. highway Route 66, a celebration that includes a variety of presence-evoking experiences. For context, an October 2025 story from the University of New Mexico includes this: “U.S. Route 66, also known as The Mother Road, starts in Chicago, Ill., and ends at the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif. It passes through eight states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, for a total of 2,448…

[The 10 campuses of the University of Hawaii are using AI chatbots to provide both information and personal support to their students. This story describes the funded project and indicators of its success, including the level of student engagement (which likely includes medium-as-social-actor presence). The original version of the story includes a YouTube short, and there’s a second one in one of the related stories linked at the end. For more information on this topic, you can listen to (or read the transcript of) a half-hour episode (no. 174) of the podcast The Key with Inside Higher Ed titled “Voices…

[The film described in this story from the Chicago Sun-Times uses virtual reality technology to give users the first-person experience of a refugee’s escape from the Cambodian genocide and decades-long search for his son. The article notes that: “A standout feature of the virtual reality experience is the hyper-realistic digital replica of [the refugee Pin] Yathay, which participants encounter before they embody him. [Filmmaker and technologist Victoria] Bousis said she used artificial intelligence to ensure Yathay’s digital eyes followed the participant’s movements, thus establishing an emotional connection.” See the original version of the story for five more pictures. In addition…

[Here’s an intriguing proposal for one or many structures called Telepresence Observation Pavilions. It’s from the Trend Hunter website, where you can find seven more images. For more about the person proposing the Pavilions and his other work, see architect Michael Jantzen‘s page on the site (and for more about Trend Hunter see the site’s About page). –Matthew] The Telepresence Observation Pavilion January 12, 2026 The Telepresence Observation Pavilion is a proposal for an observation tower that does not have to be fabricated in the traditional way, in order for visitors to enjoy elevated views of various landscapes. In this…

[This interesting story from Fast Company captures the challenges and opportunities of being among the first creators figuring out how to best utilize the presence-evoking capabilities of immersive media, in this case, the Apple Vision Pro spatial computing device. See the original version of the story for five more pictures and a 1:06:55 minute video (also on YouTube). –Matthew] With Apple’s help, storytellers are figuring out Vision Pro The headset opens up immersive new opportunities for dramas, documentaries, music videos, and beyond. Some filmmakers and developers are diving right in. By Harry McCrackenDecember 17, 2025 More than any other Apple…

[The presence-evoking virtual reality experience “Taste of Exile” described in this story from Philadelphia’s WHYY “immerses participants in an animated meal prepared by immigrant chefs… to explore the immigrant experience of displacement and resilience.” Note the creator’s interesting comments analogizing the displacement and disassociation of VR and immigration. See the original version of the story for two more images; you can watch a 2:11 minute video of a prototype of the experience on Vimeo. For more information and context, see the essays at the link in the story and visit the websites of Illya Mousavijad, Paloma Martinez-Cruz  and Cristina Martinez.…