International Society
for Presence Research

Month: March 2026

  • AI-based virtual therapy strengthens social skills for people with autism

    Published:

    [Researchers at TU Graz (Graz University of Technology) in Austria have developed an AI-based interactive virtual environment to help people affected by autism learn social skills. The original version of the story below includes a second image. For more details, see the Scientific Reports article “Large language models for autism: Evaluating theory of mind tasks in a gamified environment.” For more about ETAP ((Early) detection and personalisation of autism spectrum disorder therapy for prevention), which is mentioned in the story, see the ETAP website. –Matthew] [Image: Re-enacting everyday situations is intended to prepare people for similar situations. Credit: HCC –…

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  • Call: Listening to Possible Worlds: Sound and Music in Speculative Literature and Culture

    Published:

    Call for Papers: Listening to Possible Worlds: Sound and Music in Speculative Literature and CultureOctober 22-23, 2026Leiden University, the Netherlands (in-person)https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2026/02/09/cfp-listening-to-possible-worlds-sound-and-music-in-speculative-literature-and Confirmed keynote speakers are Anna Snaith (King’s College London) and Chris Tonelli (University of Groningen) Deadline for submissions: April 13, 2026 (extended) In her 1999 essay “Quantum Listening,” musicologist Pauline Oliveros called for new and speculative modes of listening that are not only attentive to but also active in the creation of possible future worlds. For Oliveros, this practice entails “listening in as many ways as possible simultaneously – changing and being changed by the listening.” The conceptualisation of…

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  • MASA presence: Diverse and thought-provoking reactions to delivery robots

    Published:

    [Although she doesn’t use the term, the author of this story from HuffPost explores her own and others’ medium-as-social-actor presence responses to the increasingly common delivery robots in our public spaces. The story features quotes from two of our colleagues and friends; see the original version for three more images. –Matthew] [Image: Josephine Rios, of Service Employees International Union — United Healthcare Workers West, asks a delivery robot if it wants to sign a petition to tax billionaires. She said since so many jobs are going to AI, why not ask a robot to sign. Credit: Myung J. Chun via…

    Read more: MASA presence: Diverse and thought-provoking reactions to delivery robots

  • Call: Many, Many Machine Agencies (book chapters)

    Published:

    Call for Chapters: Many, Many Machine AgenciesAn unusual book involving many, many agencieshttps://machineagencies.milieux.ca/cfp-mma/  Edited by Ceyda Yolgormez, Bart Simon, and Fenwick McKelveyMade possible through the Hexagram Network Deadline for submissions: April 15, 2026 Where is the artificial intelligence? With AI included in every job talk, abstract commentary, or refrigerator, our edited book, Many, Many Machine Agencies, challenges contributors to present encounters with many kinds of artificial intelligences in a more curious fashion than the hyped search for the artificial intelligence so far has been able to amass. The book theoretically eschews the instrumentalizing language of artificial intelligence in favour of…

    Read more: Call: Many, Many Machine Agencies (book chapters)

  • Ex-footballer and University develop VR app to tackle harassment of women and girls

    Published:

    [A former footballer is leading a team developing a virtual reality app designed to use presence to help users understand what sexual harassment feels like and thereby prevent disturbing incidents of harassment, abuse and violence. Details are in the press release below from the University of Staffordshire; see also a story from BBC News. It’s interesting, and apparently unfortunate, that closely related projects on this and other topics develop independently (for example, see the May 2025 ISPR Presence News post “Step into her shoes: VR highlights sexual harassment on trains” and the January 2026 post “Men embodying women in VR…

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  • Call: BritCHI 2026, British Computer Society Interaction Specialist Group Conference

    Published:

    Call for Papers: BritCHI 2026, the British Computer Society’s Interaction Specialist Group’s 39th ConferenceBrunel UniversityLondon, UKNovember 1-3, 2026https://www.britchi.uk/authors/ Deadline for submission of full papers: May 21, 2026Deadline for submission of short papers: July 16, 2026 We are delighted to announce the Call for Submissions for BCS BritCHI 2026! The British Computer Society Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (BritCHI) is the UK’s leading annual conference in human-computer interaction, bringing together researchers, practitioners, designers, industry leaders, and doctoral students to share innovative research and practice in HCI. The conference is the home of British HCI: a place to meet, share ideas, network, build…

    Read more: Call: BritCHI 2026, British Computer Society Interaction Specialist Group Conference

  • Future presence: A hands-on evaluation of Google Beam and the HP Dimension

    Published:

    [While convenient and commonly used video conferencing systems such as Zoom, FaceTime, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet provide moderate levels of social presence, efforts continue to create and refine  technology that provides extremely convincing social presence illusions that cause users to feel like they’re together and interacting in real time in the same physical space. This story from India’s The Economic Times Panache Magazine provides a first-person report on a demonstration of the latest version of the high-end telepresence system Google Beam. The author of another participant from Australia’s TechGuide had a similar reaction (see that story for more pictures…

    Read more: Future presence: A hands-on evaluation of Google Beam and the HP Dimension

  • Call: ACM GOODIT 2026 Conference on Information Technology for Social Good

    Published:

    Call for Papers: ACM GOODIT 20266th ACM International Conference on Information Technology for Social GoodSeptember 2-4, 2026Pisa, Italyhttps://goodit2026.di.unipi.it Deadline for submissions: May 17, 2026 The ACM 6th International Conference on Information Technology for Social Good (GoodIT 2026) is a premier international forum for researchers, practitioners, and educators to present and discuss the latest innovations, trends, and challenges in leveraging technology, data, and interdisciplinary approaches for Social Good and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The conference welcomes contributions that explore the intersection of technology with fields such as social sciences, healthcare, environmental studies, and public policy—highlighting the broader impact of digital…

    Read more: Call: ACM GOODIT 2026 Conference on Information Technology for Social Good

  • Interdisciplinary team develops and learns from World of Wonder VR app

    Published:

    [A diverse team of scholars, researchers, creators and students at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee is creating a presence-evoking educational and prosocial virtual reality adventure game for young people. See the original version of this story for a second image, and follow the links for more information and to download the app from Meta; there’s also a 12:12 minute video on YouTube. For more about project lead Lindsay Persohn, visit her USF faculty page; her dissertation, which inspired the project, is available from USF’s Digital Commons. –Matthew] Step into a World of Wonder — curiosity leads the way in…

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  • Call: Unloop: Symposium On Interaction and Computational Media Design

    Published:

    Call for Abstracts: Unloop: Symposium On Interaction and Computational Media DesignPorto, Portugal + OnlineJune 26, 2026https://frictiondesign.fba.up.pt/unloop/ Deadline for submission of abstracts: March 29, 2026 (extended) Unloop symposium explores the friction, inconvenience, and playfulness in the interaction with computational media as inducers of meaning, reflectiveness and higher-order thinking. Unloop aims to question the dominant paradigms of Human-Centred Design, that centre on flow and user satisfaction and that, despite having been contributing to the production of usable artefacts, have also been leading users into hedonistic loops that reinforce automatic, familiar, and repetitive behaviours. Unloop takes place in the context of the Break…

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  • The risks and rewards of XR documentary

    Published:

    [This story from the Canada Media Fund uses examples and comments from a panel discussion at the Montreal International Documentary Festival to explore the potential positive and negative psychological impacts of documentaries that utilize presence-evoking extended reality technologies. For more on Traces: The Grief Processor, see a March 2025 ISPR Presence News post. –Matthew] [Image: Traces: The Grief Processor. Credit: Couzin Films.] The risks and rewards of XR documentary For several years, extended reality (XR) documentaries have been offering immersive experiences by dropping audiences directly into stories via virtual or augmented reality. How is the genre faring today? By Philippe…

    Read more: The risks and rewards of XR documentary

  • Call: SOcial and Cultural IntegrAtion with PersonaLIZEd Interfaces (SOCIALIZE) 2026 Workshop

    Published:

    Call for Papers: SOCIALIZE Workshop @ UMAP 2026Sixth Workshop on SOcial and Cultural IntegrAtion with PersonaLIZEd Interfaces (SOCIALIZE 2026)Co-located with the 34th ACM International Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization (UMAP) 2026Gothenburg, Sweden SOCIALIZE WORKSHOP:June 8, 2026https://socialize2026.di.unito.it/ UMAP 2026:June 8-11, 2026https://www.um.org/umap2026/ IMPORTANT DATES:Submission deadline: April 9, 2026Decision notification: April 28, 2026Camera-ready: May 7, 2026Workshop date: June 8, 2026 OVERVIEW The SOCIALIZE workshop aims to explore user modeling, adaptation, and personalization techniques that foster the social and cultural integration of diverse user populations. We specifically intend to attract research that addresses the interaction challenges faced by different groups, with a…

    Read more: Call: SOcial and Cultural IntegrAtion with PersonaLIZEd Interfaces (SOCIALIZE) 2026 Workshop

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