[The University of North Carolina Greensboro’s College of Arts and Sciences reports on an interdisciplinary project to reproduce the experience of walking through an historic building in the 1950s; see the original version of the story for five more images and a 3:25 minute video (also available via YouTube). –Matthew] [Image: The UNCG team of designers and computer scientists watch as Melissa Knapp ’20 tours the historic hotel in virtual reality.] Virtual Reality brings the past to life at Magnolia House Story by Elizabeth Keri, College of Arts & Sciences Photography by Martin W. Kane, University Communications August 9, 2021…

[This item from The Brussels Times reports on an unusual presence-evoking art exhibition; The Times says “The exhibition features 1970s works of ‘hyperrealism’ representing the human body with the aim, according to curators, of ‘offering a perfect illusion, giving the feeling of facing an exact replica of reality.’” For more pictures and videos see Tempora’s Instagram. –Matthew] ‘Hyperrealism Sculpture’ exhibit in Brussels invites naked visitors 21 August 2021 A special art exhibition in Brussels invites visitors to examine hyper-realistic sculptures focused on the human form while naked themselves. Located at Tour & Taxis in the Belgian capital, the naturist-friendly exhibit…

[This Washington Post story describes how a company created a voice deepfake for actor Val Kilmer after surgery for throat cancer and addresses some of the ethical and legal implications of the technology. For more information see coverage at Silicon Canals, an apparent press release at About Insider, and the Sonantic blog. –Matthew] [Image: Actor Val Kilmer in Los Angeles on Sept. 7, 2012. Credit: Ryan Miller/Invision/AP] AI gave Val Kilmer his voice back. But critics worry the technology could be misused. British start-up Sonantic used old films of Hollywood actor to re-create his natural voice By Dalvin Brown August…

[In this piece from The Conversation a philosophy professor uses the new film “Free Guy” as a starting point to explain some of the concepts and implications of the ultimate form of presence, in which all of our experience is actually a simulation or illusion. See IMDb for two trailers and Variety for a (positive) review of the film, which is in theaters now and according to Collider will debut “on all major digital platforms on September 28 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on October 12.” Matt Jones and I are among those who have written about…

[This story from The New York Times describes Disney’s efforts to update its animatronic characters for a new media era. See the original version for many more images and short videos, and see often amusing reactions (e.g., referencing Westworld) in stories from HuffPost and Comic Sands. The San Jose Mercury News reports on a new 10-episode Disney+ series called “Behind the Attraction” and provides some interesting history from it about the early days of the Abraham Lincoln animatronic robot. –Matthew] [Image: Testing silicon skin for elasticity. Credit: Coley Brown for The New York Times] Are You Ready for Sentient Disney…

[Some of the stories about Elon Musk’s announcement that his company is creating a humanoid robot (e.g., in The Washington Post and The Hill) just describe the Tesla AI Day presentation. Others focus on the potential of Tesla Bots to help us explore Mars (Business Insider) or revolutionize health care (Forbes). The CNET story below at least includes an acknowledgement of the ambitiousness of just producing the robot as described, while other stories are more skeptical (Ars Technica), analyze and refute each of Musk’s claims (IEEE Spectrum), or dismiss the whole effort as a strategic distraction from Tesla’s current problems…