[In this story from The Washington Post several experts including our colleague Robby Ratan comment on the promise and perils of the metaverse, and the roles of presence in both. Robby is also quoted in a Popular Science story about a new study of the Proteus Effect, “Athletic virtual reality avatars might make exercise feel easier; Participants who cycled while using athletic VR avatars had lower heart rates.” –Matthew] [Image: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks to an avatar of himself in the metaverse during Facebook Connect. His vision of the future could have wide-ranging — and potentially ill-advised — effects.…

[As someone with a lifelong visual impairment I’ve looked at various times for both low and high tech simulations to illustrate to others how I experience the world, including online simulators (e.g., The Sight Center of Northwest Ohio) and apps (e.g., Perkins School for the Blind), so this story from Chicago’s Daily Herald about a new “virtual reality screening room” (a CAVE) at Chicago’s Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired is of particular interest. A 10 minute July 2021 story from WGN News available via YouTube features a visit to Hadley and a demonstration of the new room…

[This story from The Washington Post summarizes the evolution of robots for the home and how it’s leading to social robots that evoke medium-as-social-actor presence and become our “emotional companions.” See the original version for three more images and links to related stories. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Illustration by Andrew Nye for The Washington Post] The next generation of home robots will be more capable — and perhaps more social Tech titans and upstarts alike are working to deepen our relationships with their robots By Chris Velazco November 10, 2021 Wander around any big-box electronics store long enough and you may…

[This CNN story about a more physically and psychologically realistic virtual influencer named Angie raises interesting questions about the appeals of and reactions to the interactive artificial humans increasingly being used to market products. For example, it says that “[d]espite knowing she’s not real, many of Angie’s followers eagerly tell her about their day in two group chats on Douyin” and a millennial follower is quoted saying “The reason why I like her is that Angie is more realistic than many people who are actually real.” In a new story in RADII that includes more details about Angie and her…

[A press release from Verizon reports some interesting findings related to medium-as-social-actor (and actor within medium) presence in the context of customer service. For much more information follow one of the links to the whitepaper below. –Matthew] What makes a digital connection human is changing, global study finds November 9, 2021 Media contact(s): Erin Cheever erin.dowling@verizon.com What you need to know: New Longitude survey of over 5,600 people across 16 countries highlights acceptance of automated machines is growing among consumers, but transparency is key As Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots and other intelligent tools take on more human-like attributes, human involvement…

[The opinions in the Big Think story below by an augmented reality pioneer highlight the promise and especially the peril of the presence-evoking technology. See also “Hey, Facebook, I Made a Metaverse 27 Years Ago. It was terrible then, and it’s terrible now.” by Ethan Zuckerman in The Atlantic; here are the last three paragraphs: “Facebook can claim originality in at least one thing. Its combination of scale and irresponsibility has unleashed a set of diverse and fascinating sociopolitical challenges that it will take lawmakers, scholars, and activists at least a generation to fix. If Facebook has learned anything from…