[The idea of reproducing part of a university campus in virtual reality isn’t new, but the one in this story from Berkeley News has some interesting characteristics and its creators intend to use it beyond the pandemic. See the original story for two more images and a 1:50 minute demonstration video (also available on YouTube). –Matthew] [Image: Virtual Bauer Wurster’s digital studio desk space will allow students and instructors in the College of Environmental Design to connect and collaborate on projects. Credit: Courtesy of Luisa Caldas] Missing in-person interaction, Berkeley’s design school launches virtual reality building By Ivan Natividad March…

[An interesting new study described in USC News contributes to the Computers/Media Are Social Actors literature by exploring the roles of heuristic thinking and faith in technology in how people behave toward computers in the context of the pandemic; see the iScience article for much more information and a 1:29 minute video of the stimuli. –Matthew] [Image: Screenshot of the stimuli video in which a study participant chooses how many tokens to return to the computer player in one of the experiment trials.] People affected by COVID-19 are being nicer to machines The pandemic has forced many to increasingly rely…

[The University of California San Francisco reports on a program of research investigating the potential benefits of immersive media and presence to improve memory in older adults. See the original story for three different images and a looping video. –Matthew] [Image: Game movement was effected by a participant’s ambulation, which was co-registered into the game map from ankle-mounted tracking sensors. Source: Figure 2B from the Scientific Reports article] Playing Virtual Reality Video Game May Boost Seniors’ Memory By Emily Hayes March 22, 2021 A decline in memory is a harsh reality for some people as they age and may even…

[All of the news stories about William Shatner teaming with the company StoryFile to create a version of himself that future generations can interact with are based on the company’s press release below via GlobeNewswire (which for some reason doesn’t mention its work with astronauts, Civil Rights leaders and Holocaust survivors – see the StoryFile website for more details). Here’s how the company promotes their service: “StoryFile uses a mobile native cloud-based AI-driven conversational video technology. THIS is what differentiates StoryFile from everything else! Have you ever interacted with a life-sized hologram of an astronaut and asked him what it’s…

[As all the coverage including this Scientific American story makes clear, IBM’s newest AI isn’t as persuasive as the best human debaters, but it’s getting close (and represents a big step toward effective medium-as-social-actor presence). ExtremeTech notes that “The question of who wins a debate will always be subjective, and humans still clearly outperform IBM’s Project Debater. For now, we’re still a long way from Data — but we’ve come a long way from Eliza, too.” See the original Scientific American story for a different image and watch the nearly one hour debate video on YouTube. The Jerusalem Post provides…

[This and the two related Brain Awareness Week stories from Cleveland.com it mentions describe the evolution of technologies that together enhance presence and help neurosurgeons obtain greater success in locating the source of brain conditions and practicing for and performing surgeries that help improve and save patients’ lives. See the original version of the story for a second image. –Matthew] [Image: MetroHealth neurosurgeon Dr. Deven Reddy uses a virtual reality system developed by the Chicago company ImmersiveTouch to view and work on a virtual model of a patient’s brain to prepare for a complex surgery. Credit: Evan MacDonald, cleveland.com] Virtual…