[A new playful large-scale experiment with presence using augmented reality may lead to lots of interesting applications, as suggested near the end of this story from Wired; see the original version for a second image and a 1:17 minute video, and for more information see a June 2020 CNET story. –Matthew] Snapchat has turned London into an augmented reality experiment Snap has launched its first persistent, shareable augmented reality experience on London’s Carnaby Street – it’s a proof of concept for a 1:1 digital copy of everything on the planet By Will Bedingfield 8 October 2020 The dream of graffiti…

[I’ve been skeptical about the appeal of watching a television (or movie) screen within virtual reality, but this entertaining story from Esquire provides a first-person explanation, including some of the factors that enhance and reduce the appeal of this kind of presence experience. See the original version for two more images.  –Matthew] The Artful Opulence of Watching Netflix With the Oculus Quest 2 Proves VR Isn’t Just for Gaming The headset’s virtual reality living room, in which you’ll hunker down to catch up on TV, is nicer than your reality. By Justin Kirkland October 7, 2020 I am decidedly not…

[Augmented reality has received less attention than virtual reality in the presence community but this story from CBS News describes a clever application of AR and presence in the context of military training. For some reason the 4:46 minute video report isn’t included in the original story but can be found (at this writing at least) in the version at MSN.com. For much more information, including a long interview with Dan Robinson and several more images and videos, see coverage in The Drive. –Matthew] [Image: Dan Robinson wearing augmented reality headset. Source: The Drive] U.S. Air Force pilots could soon…

[As if today’s shameless denials and distortions of truth and polarizing media ‘bubbles’ weren’t big enough problems, this detailed and example-filled article from Fast Company argues that presence-evoking deepfakes will soon challenge our ability to understand and learn from our own history. See the original story for three videos. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: bashta/iStock] Fake video threatens to rewrite history. Here’s how to protect it AI-generated deepfakes aren’t just a problem for politics and other current affairs. Unless we act now, they could also tamper with our record of the past. By Benj Edwards October 3, 2020 Since deepfakes burst onto…

[Artificial intelligence will likely play an increasingly important role in our presence experiences and the new “dynamic film” Agence is an intriguing example of this potential. This story from Upload describes the project; see the original version for two different images and a 7:45 minute “gameplay walkthrough” video (also available via YouTube). –Matthew] Agence Is A Fascinating VR Deep Dive Into Evolving AI By Jamie Feltham September 28, 2020 While speaking to Pietro Gagliano of Transitional Forms and David Oppenheim of the NFB about their new VR film, Agence, Gagliano streams the piece itself. I watch as he toys with…

[Live Science is among the many publications reporting on a project to create presence-evoking portraits of Roman Emperors; see the original story for more photos. Excerpts from some of the other coverage that add more details and raise additional issues about efforts like this follow below. –Matthew] [Image: A description of Caligula said the emperor had “a glare savage enough to torture.” Credit: Courtesy of Daniel Voshart/The Metropolitan Museum of Art] AI ‘resurrects’ 54 Roman emperors, in stunningly lifelike images An artist used machine learning to create the photorealistic portraits. By Mindy Weisberger September 28, 2020 Ancient Roman emperors’ faces have…