[This very short BBC News story is about an innovative program in the UK that uses virtual reality and presence to stimulate discussion and learning to reduce knife crime. For more specific local coverage about the program see stories in the West Bridgford Wire (May 2023) and Saddleworth Independent (June 2023). For video news reports see a 2:39 minute June 2022 story from Northwest Tonight via YouTube and a 6:43 minute June 2019 story from Channel 4 News. And for much more information about this and related programs see the website of the organization Round Midnight. –Matthew] [Image: Cast and…

[Although books don’t provide the direct sensory stimuli generally associated with presence experiences, they certainly can evoke a strong sense of “being there” with characters in a story world. A new product called the Sol Reader is designed to increase the potential for such experiences. It’s described in the very brief story below from DesignTAXI as well as in stories from New Atlas (“Sol Reader puts bookworms right inside their ebooks“) and Men’s Gear (“Make reading more immersive with the Sol Reader.” For more information see a 4:45 minute January 2023 review from Brad Lynch on YouTube and visit the…

[The essay below from No Proscenium points out that as more people and companies design and market experiences (vs. traditional products and services), and in particular immersive (presence-evoking) experiences that give people agency and either inadvertently or deliberately lead to “transformation change,” we need to take that term, and the responsibilities of designing experiences that  inadvertently or deliberately “show the participant another way of being in the world” seriously. See the original version of the essay for three more images. –Matthew] [Image: The “climate simulator” at ‘Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.’ Credit: Noah Nelson for No Proscenium] “Transformational Experiences” Are The…

[Here is a thought-provoking essay by philosopher Stephen Asma about embodiment, agency and the nature of consciousness that illustrates the difference between our evolution-based tendency to anthropomorphize machines that look and seem to think like humans (i.e., medium as social actor presence illusions) and potential future accurate, empathetic perceptions of AI-based embodied consciousness. The essay is from the Blog of the American Philosophical Associaton (APA). –Matthew] [Image: Art by Stephen Asma, published with the author’s permission] AI Films and the Fudging of Consciousness By Stephen Asma, a professor of philosophy at Columbia College Chicago. He is the author of ten…

[The potential benefits of evoking presence after a loved one has died are illustrated in this short, personal story from the website of WZZM 13 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. See the two-minute video report in the original story and visit the pages of the Moore to Give website for more details.  –Matthew] Kent Co. man helps families grieve loss of loved ones through virtual reality technology Moore to Give will record a loved one with a 360 degree camera for you to play back in VR, like you’re right in the room with them. By Nate Belt July 4, 2023…

[On this US holiday, here’s a fun presence game to play – as described by HypeArt (and recommended by Free Technology for Teachers), Google’s Odd One Out challenges players to identify AI-generated images and could enhance media literacy regarding AI and presence. Of course, because generative AI is evolving so quickly the task will soon become too challenging unless it’s rigged to allow players to win. The related story from Futurism that follows below illustrates the challenges even companies like Google and Sony face in distinguishing ‘real’ and ‘fake’ images.  –Matthew] Google’s New Online Game Challenges You to Guess Which…