[Medium-as-social-actor presence extends to the richly human context of religion in this story from The Diplomat (where the original includes two more images). A 1:42 minute video of the “android deity” is available from SankeiNews via YouTube. –Matthew] An Ancient Japanese Shrine Debuts a Buddhist Robot A high-tech twist hopes to offer Buddhist wisdom that’s easily understood by younger generations in Japan. By Thisanka Siripala March 05, 2019 Kyoto, Japan’s ancient former capital, is home to temples, shrines, and imperial gardens. As the birthplace of Japanese tradition, the city attracts some 53 million tourists every year. Recently, the famed 400-year…

[CNN has launched an app that makes its content available for users of the Magic Leap One augmented reality headset, as reported in this story from Next Reality; see the original version for 2 animated gifs and a 0:40 minute video (also available via YouTube). Two short excerpts from other coverage, providing additional information and cautionary notes, follow below. –Matthew] CNN Brings Its News Networks to Magic Leap One By Tommy Palladino February 28, 2019 News junkies who own the Magic Leap One received some good news on Thursday, as CNN has published an app for the headset to display…

[Check out some of the new websites linked in this CNN story to see how AI is making it increasingly difficult to separate fake from real. See the original story for a 1:37 minute video and a second image, and see coverage in SecurityIntelligence for a warning about how this technology poses a serious threat to biometric security. –Matthew] These people do not exist. Why websites are churning out fake images of people (and cats) By Rachel Metz February 28, 2019 San Francisco (CNN Business) – The young girl on the computer screen is adorable, with rosy cheeks, blue-gray eyes,…

[Creating virtual assistants that can evoke effective medium-as-social-actor presence currently requires a lot of  manual work by ‘conversational designers,’ but a new system will help automate the process, as described in this ZDNet story. See the original version for a second image and a 1:03 minute video. –Matthew] Nuance’s Project Pathfinder uses AI to build smarter virtual assistants Companies with large amounts of live chat and call centre transcripts should be able to replace laborious conversation-design processes with Nuance’s upcoming automated tool. By Charles McLellan for Product Central February 6, 2019 Conversational AI specialist Nuance has announced a new project…

[According to The Hollywood Reporter, a classic presence-evoking technology is set to be the basis of a new live action film (!).  –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Fisher-Price via Getty Images] View-Master Movie In the Works at MGM and Mattel Films (Exclusive) The deal signifies the latest toy marked for development as part of Mattel’s new push into screen entertainment. February 27, 2019 By Borys Kit MGM and Mattel are partnering up to develop a live-action feature film based on the toy entertainment company’s classic View-Master toy line. Mattel Films, the feature arm launched late last year by the El Segundo-based toymaker,…

[Especially with everything going on in the political sphere today I think it’s wonderful that an organization is using presence to encourage people to recognize their unconscious biases and increase empathy and sensitivity in their interactions with others. The CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion’s Check Your Blind Spots mobile exhibit is on a 100 city tour around the U.S., making stops at campuses and workplaces. The story below from CNET is from the recent stop at CES (the Consumer Electronics Show); a story from the Wake Forest University stop is available in the Old Gold & Black student paper;…

[Instead of “staging” an empty home with actual furnishings to make it more appealing to potential buyers, why not just alter photos of the empty spaces to create the illusion of a furnished home? The Houston Chronicle reports that the trend is on the rise, but also raising interesting ethical issues regarding its potential for deception. See the original story for five more images. If it’s not already widespread, I assume the next evolution of virtual staging will involve interactive photo-realistic versions of the staged spaces experienced via VR and AR. –Matthew] [Image: Emily Walling, a TK Images virtual stager…