International Society
for Presence Research

Month: April 2026

  • Call: Workshop on Health, Wellbeing and Human-AI Interaction at HHAII 2026

    Published:

    Call for Papers: Workshop on Health, Wellbeing and Human-AI Interaction (HAII)At the 5th International Conference on Hybrid Human-Artificial Intelligence (HHAII 2026)July 6-10, 2026Brussels, BelgiumWorkshop: https://hhai-conference.org/2026/elementor-6795/Conference: https://hhai-conference.org/2026/ Deadline for submissions: May 1, 2026 We invite paper contributions to an in-person workshop on the Health, Wellbeing and Human-AI Interaction (HAII) as part of the Hybrid-Human AI (HHAI2026) Conference in 6-10 July 2026 in Brussels. Artificial Intelligence is rapidly translating into health and care and has increasing relevance to individual wellbeing. It brings potentially transformative benefits together with new challenges. Example applications range from AI-assisted diagnosis and treatment support to wellness chatbots and…

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  • Positive impacts of presence and AI in telerobotic surgery

    Published:

    [While there is good reason to be concerned about and address potential negative impacts of presence, especially when fast-evolving technologies including artificial intelligence are involved, there are also many potential positive impacts. This story from R&D World describes some extremely important positive impacts in the context of telerobotic surgery. See the original version of the story for a larger version of the graphic below and five additional images. –Matthew] [Image: Intuitive’s telecollaboration roadmap spans today’s remote case observation and telementoring to a future vision of intraoperative consultation, where a remote surgeon could join a live case from a second console.…

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  • Call: “Human Expertise and Agency in AI-Supported Work” at CHIWork 2026

    Published:

    Workshop on Human Expertise and Agency in AI-Supported WorkAt CHIWork 2026, the 5th Symposium on Human-Computer Interaction for WorkJune 22, 2026Linz, Austria [remote participation is possible – see CFP in AI-SGES]Workshop website: https://agency-and-skill.github.io/Conference website: https://chiwork.org/26/ Deadline for submissions: May 4, 2026 A half-day, in-person workshop on June 22, 2026 in Linz, Austria, co-located with CHIWORK’26, the 5th Symposium on Human-Computer Interaction for Work. As algorithms suggest diagnoses, draft legal arguments, grade assignments, or review code, professions are not only supported, they are reshaped: Skills are redistributed, judgments recalibrated, and responsibility renegotiated. While short-term performance improvements are frequently documented, much less…

    Read more: Call: “Human Expertise and Agency in AI-Supported Work” at CHIWork 2026

  • AI-generated country music threatens genre’s authenticity

    Published:

    [As AI-generated media content becomes increasingly common and similar to content created by humans, it becomes more challenging for consumers to distinguish between the two, and especially for casual consumers, it may become less important. As Vice reports, a vivid example of this is occurring in country music. See the linked ABC News KTEN story for additional details. –Matthew] [Image: “Whiskey & Water,” a song by Cain Walker featuring Cade Winslow, is one of many AI-generated country music tunes. Credit: Timothy A. Clary / AFP. Source: RFI.] This Genre Considers Authenticity a Core Value, but Is Leading in AI-Generated Music…

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  • Call: Symposium on XR Research in Theatre and Performance

    Published:

    Call for Contributions: XR-Research SymposiumJune 17, 2026Rose Bruford CollegeSidcup, Southeast Londonhttps://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa-jisc.exe?A2=ART-TECHNOLOGY;f0beb81a.2604 Deadline for submission of proposals: May 4, 2026 Rose Bruford College is hosting a symposium to bring together academics, artists and technologists using XR technologies for research in theatre and performance. The use of XR (augmented/mixed/virtual reality) tools and techniques is now well-established in many fields of artistic practice and academic enquiry, from their use to make various kinds of digital performance to VR reconstructions of historic theatres. Through this one-day symposium, we want to bring together academics and practitioners to share, discuss and explore how XR can be…

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  • Las Vegas Sphere turns into huge Moon to celebrate NASA mission

    Published:

    [In a dramatic presence-evoking display, and celebration, of this week’s space flight to the furthest distance from Earth humans have ever travelled, The Sphere in Las Vegas ‘turned into’ the Moon, with NASA’s Artemis II spacecraft orbiting above its surface. See the original version of this short story from Futurism for larger versions of the two images below and follow the links within the story for more information, images and videos. –Matthew] Las Vegas Sphere Turns Into Huge Moon to Celebrate NASA Mission “Good luck, Godspeed Artemis II. Let’s go.” By Victor TangermannApril 9, 2026 NASA’s historic Artemis 2 mission…

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  • Call: Chapters for Teaching the Game, 2nd Edition

    Published:

    Call for Book Chapter Proposals: Teaching the Game, Second EditionPlay Story Presshttps://playstorypress.org/2026/04/07/call-for-proposal-teaching-the-game-second-edition/ Deadline for submission of abstracts: May 1, 2026 (chapters due June 15, 2026) We are pleased to share this call for book chapter proposals for the second edition of Teaching the Game, to be published open access by Play Story Press. Abstracts are due May 1, 2026 . Authors will be notified by May 15, 2026. Accepted chapters will be due by June 15, 2026. Full details are below, but please feel free to contact us with questions or to submit your proposal at rferdig@gmail.com.…

    Read more: Call: Chapters for Teaching the Game, 2nd Edition

  • Fallguard project uses AI to predict and prevent VR user falls

    Published:

    [Two first-year undergraduate students are working with an assistant professor of computer science at Kennesaw State University in Georgia to develop an AI-based system that predicts when a virtual reality user is about to fall and warns them to prevent it. The warnings come in the form of sounds or prompts (perhaps eventually they can be incorporated into the experience to avoid breaking presence, as with in-story verbal cautions from characters). The Fallguard is one of several projects in the University’s First-Year Scholars Program; a summary of others is here. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Darnell Wilburn] First-year students leverage AI technology…

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  • Call: The Hybrid Subject: Navigating Human-AI Communication

    Published:

    Call for Papers: International Academic Conference: The Hybrid Subject: Navigating Human-AI CommunicationJune 28-30, 2026Peking University HSBC Business School (PHBS)Shenzhen, Chinahttp://listserv.aoir.org/pipermail/air-l-aoir.org/2026-April/195805.html Deadline for submission of full papers OR extended abstracts: April 30, 2026 CONFERENCE OVERVIEW Against the rapid integration of artificial intelligence into social, organizational, and interpersonal communication, human-AI interaction has evolved from instrumental operation to hybrid subjectivity: AI systems participate as conversational partners, decision collaborators, and co-creators, reshaping identities, norms, power dynamics, and communicative practices. This conference convenes international scholars in communication, media studies, organizational behavior, digital sociology, human-computer interaction, and AI ethics to interrogate the hybrid subject in theory,…

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  • LIFE V-aiR project uses VR to make invisible pollution visible

    Published:

    [A multi-year project in the EU is using presence-evoking virtual reality to help both the public and policy-makers better understand and address the challenges of controlling air pollution. Some of the details are in this news release from the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (the original version includes a second image); more details are available from Atmo Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (Atmo BFC). The Escape and Serious games are available from Meta. –Matthew] Clearing the air: LIFE project uses virtual reality to make invisible pollution visible As air pollution remains a critical health and environmental challenge in Europe, the LIFE V-aiR…

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  • Call: “The Role of Journalism in Endangered Democracy” Conference

    Published:

    [NOTE: See especially the section toward the end regarding the Fictional Identities In Digital Space panel. –Matthew] Call for Papers: Conference – ‘The Role of Journalism in Endangered Democracy’June 5-6, 2026Communication and Media Department, University of SplitSplit, Croatiahttp://commlist.org/archive/all/2026-all/msg00527.html Deadline for submission of abstracts: April 25, 2026 RATIONALE: During the 2016 US presidential campaign the publication of inaccurate and, in particular of intentionally inaccurate information, through social media and fake websites became a salient reality of the digitized information world (Palczewski, 2017; Parkinson, 2016; Silverman & Singer-Vine, 2016). It further polarized American society and confused voting citizens. The proliferation of the…

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  • Survey reveals growing appeal of AI for romantic and sexual interactions

    Published:

    [A new survey finds increasing use of AI chatbots, and willingness to use of AI-based robots, for romance and sex. Some of the implications of this use of technologies that evoke medium-as-social-actor presence are discussed in this story from Vice; follow the  ZipHealth link for more details about the survey results. –Matthew] Gen Z Won’t Stop Having Sex With AI Chatbots Maybe the robots really are taking over. By Ashley FikeApril 6, 2026 People are willing to try just about anything to feel close to someone again. And in today’s ever-freakier world, that “someone” doesn’t even have to be human.…

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